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City's  Danger  and  Defense. 


OR, 


ISSUES  AND  RESULTS  OF  THE  STRIKES  OF  1877, 


CONTAINING 


The  Origin  and  History  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard. 


BY 

SAMUEL   C.   LOGAN,  D.  D. 


SCRANTON,  PA. 

1887. 


Copyright,  1887, 
By  Samuel  C.  Logan,  D.D. 


PRESS  OF 

THE  JAS.  B.  RODOERS  PRINTING  CO. 

62  &  54  NORTH  SIXTH  ST 

PHILADELPHIA. 


33  W  w 


TO  THE 

PATRIOTIC  YOUNG   MEN, 

WHO    HAD 
WISDOM  TO  DISCERN  THE  CITY'S  DANGER,  AND  THE  PATIENT  COURAGE 

TO 
PROVIDE  FOR  ITS  DEFENSE,   IS  THIS  WORK 

^Iffectionattlij  Inscribed 

BY   THE   AUTHOR, 

WHO,   THROUGH    TEN  YEARS   OF    PUBLIC   SERVICE, 

HAS  TRIED 

TO    KEEP    STEP   WITH    THEM. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preliminary  Words i 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Workmen  and  Their  Employers 


Business  disturbances  of  1S77 — The  causes  which  produced  and  condi- 
tions which  determined  their  character — The  real  issue— Order  or 
anarchy. 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Great  Railway  Strike  of  July  16,  1S77 24 

Development,  culmination  and  legitimate  fruits  of  the  railway  ob- 
struction 

CHAPTER  HI. 
The  Sirocco  and  the  Simoon 43 

The  strike  in  the  anthracite  coal-fields  of  Pennsylvania— The  city's 
exposure  and  danger — "  They  cry,  Peace  !  Peace !  when  there  is  no 
peace" — They  seek  their  rights  by  the  way  of  wrong. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Divided  Counsels 55 

Justice  fallen  in  the  streets— Efforts  to  establish  law  by  compromise, 
and  order  by  treaty  with  law-breakers— Preparations  for  defense  and 
protection — Generation  and  concentration  of  forces  open  and  secret 
— The  wheels  begin  to  revolve  again,  but  not  without  friction — Law- 
abiding  citizens  propose  in  their  own  way  to  assist  the  law-breakers 
to  keep  the  peace  of  the  city. 

V 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PAGE 

The  Mob  and  its  Trite  Master 77 

"There's  a  divinity  which  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Gathering  of  the  City's  Defenders 104 

The  night  watch— After  the  battle — The  picket  line — "Grand  rounds" 
— "Forlorn  hope  "— Morning  relief. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Return  Tide 118 

Dangers  of  the  undertow — The  invisible  dangers  worse  than  the  visi- 
ble— The  city's  defenders  must  defend  themselves. 

■    CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Arrest  and  Triae  of  the  City's  Defenders 132 

The  law-breakers  become  the  vindicators  of  law — Justice   run   riot — 
Change  of  base,  but  no  change  of  issues. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Organization  and  Muster  of  the  Guard 155 

The  mob  produces  fruits  by  the  legal  tree — The  dragon's  teeth  sown 
in  the  fields  of  legal  prosecution  sprout  into  a  beautiful  harvest. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Equipment,  Driee  and  Guard  Duty 168 

Still  facing  the  mob— Search  for  the  sinews  of  war — The  organization 
armed  and  on  its  feet — Company  rolls. 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER  XL 

PAGE 

"Who  Comes  There?" 186 

The  guard  mount— Dress  and  undress— Test  of  the  use  of  the  guard— 
The  second  night-watch — The  city  sleeps  well  behind  its  defense  now. 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Civil  History 197 

Struggles  for  a  habitation — End  of  the  strike— The  city's  endorsement 
of  its  executive  and  its  defenders — Law  an  open  bargain  and  must 
be  fulfilled. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  City  Guard  in  the  Wilderness 218 

The  problems  of  civil  organization  and  financial  administration — The 
rubbish  cleared  away — Foundations  laid  which  demand  a  superstruc- 
ture—The armory  completed  and  dedicated — The  Guard  at  home. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Bondage  of  the  Bonds 23S 

The  call  for  "the  Reserves  "— The  "grand  rounds"  and  the  "relief 
— The  military  fair  and  its  results. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Trials  of  Prosperity 25S 

Burdens  of  success — The  property  secured  and  its  control  determined 
— The  chaplain — The  veteran  organization. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  March  of  the  "Scranton  City  Guard"   .       270 

The  companies  and  the  "  honorable  mention" — The  consolidation  and 
association  in  and  influence  upon  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsyl- 
vania— The  Thirteenth  Regiment— Rifle  practice  and  camp  drill  for 
the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania. 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

PAGE 

The  Thirteenth  Regiment,  N.  G.  P 299 

The    march— The   camp— Evolution    and    revolutions— Tracks    of    the 
City  Guard  in  the  State. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Conclusions  and  the  Conclusion 314 

Truths— Transitions— Benedictions. 


Appendix  A.    Historic  Rolls 343 

Appendix  B.    Veteran  Organization 353 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


All  the  portraits  in  this  book  are  placed  there  out  of  kindness  to  the  Author,  and 
in  no  case  are  to  be  considered  as  committing  those  they  represent  to  an  endorse- 
ment either  of  the  record  of  facts  or  of  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  work.  For 
these  the  Author  alone  is  responsible.  He  takes  this  opportunity  of  tendering  his 
grateful  thanks  to  that  host  of  friends  who  have  so  generously  helped,  and  patiently 
waited  for,  the  completion  of  his  work. 

PAGE 

The  Author Frontispiece. 

Capt.  E.  H.  Ripple 62 

Diagrams— Citizens  Meeting  the  Mob 96,  97,  98 

Isaac  J.  Post,  Esq 124 

Col.  H.  M.  Boies .  .    166 

Mayor  R.  H.  McKune 211 

Charles  F.  Mattes 232 

Armory  of  Scranton  City  Guard,  187S 238 

Pennsylvania's  First  Rifle  Team 276 

Headquarters  Thirteenth  Regiment    305 

Field  and  Staff,  Thirteenth  Regiment,  1SS7 313 


A  CITY'S  DANGER  AND  DEFENSE. 


PRELIMINARY   WORDS. 

The  Danger  of  Society  is  the  Lawless  Spirit,  and  he  is  the  Traitor 

who  dishonors  the  Law. 

FOR  the  past  three  years  the  propriety  of  preserving,  in 
some  form,  the  history  of  "the  Scranton  City  Guard," 
and  of  the  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  city  out  of  which  this 
military  organization  grew,  has  been  more  or  less  agitated. 
The  rapid  changes,  both  in  the  constitution  of  the  Guard,  and 
in  the  population  and  business  interests  of  the  city,  have  given 
emphasis  to  the  suggestion,  that  if  this  important  chapter  in 
the  life  of  the  Lackawanna  Valley  is  to  be  preserved  delay 
must  prove  fatal. 

At  the  request  of  the  officers  of  the  13th  Regiment,  Col. 
Boies,  for  some  time  meditated  the  design  of  undertaking  this 
work,  and  gathered  some  valuable  material  for  the  purpose. 
But  time  passed;  the  delicacy  of  the  work,  in  which  a  chief 
actor  is  set  to  record  the  history,  and  the  pressure  of  business, 
prevented  the  prosecution  of  this  design. 

About  eighteen  months  ago  there  came  to  the  Chaplain  of 
the  Guard,  who  had  been  identified  with  it  from  the  beginning, 
various  and  earnest  requests,  from  enlisted  members  and  vet- 
erans of  the  organization,  and  from  citizens  interested  in  it, 
that  he  would  undertake  the  work  of  writing,  at  least  the  his- 
tory of  the  military  organization.     The  "  Board  of  Officers  " 

1 


2  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

then  took  the  matter  up.  They  elected  the  chaplain  "  Histo- 
rian of  the  13th  Regiment,"  and  laid  upon  him  the  duty  of  re- 
cording the  history  of  the  crisis  out  of  which  the  organization 
sprung,  and  with  which  the  City  Guard  had  so  much  to  do. 
The  danger  and  deliverance  of  the  city  and  of  the  immense 
industries  centering  in  it,  were  deemed  too  important  to  be 
suffered  to  pass  into  oblivion  without  an  effort  to  secure  a  rec- 
ord of  the  facts.  With  these  requests  came  promises  of  all 
reasonable  help  and  support  in  the  undertaking. 

In  obedience  to  these  requests,  and  without  any  intermission 
of  severe  professional  duties,  this  history  has  been  written- 
Whether  it  was  worth  the  labor,  and  whether  the  record  is 
worthy  of  the  subject,  are  now  left  to  the  charitable  judgment 
and  taste  of  those  who  undertake  to  read  its  pages. 

Necessarily,  both  the  character  and  interest  of  the  work 
must  be  in  a  great  measure  local  and  temporary.  Yet  it  is 
believed  that  the  crisis  which  came  to  the  whole  valley  and 
the  immediate  revelation,  of  both  the  weakness  and  strength 
of  a  free  government,  which  was  made  by  the  labor  strikes  in 
the  summer  of  1877,  and  by  the  riots  which  followed  them  in 
so  many  cities  of  our  country,  ought  to  secure  some  interest  to 
this  record  of  facts  beyond  the  limit  of  both  the  military  or- 
ganization and  the  city. 

The  danger,  the  defense  and  deliverance  of  the  city  of  Scran- 
ton,  and  of  the  immense  business  interests  of  the  anthracite 
coal-fields  of  Northeastern  Pennsylvania,  were  but  the  type  and 
illustration  of  that  lawless  spirit,  which  swept  over  so  much  of 
our  country  in  1877;  as  well  as  the  revelation  of  those  latent 
forces  which  are  constantly  fostered  in  our  manufacturing  dis- 
tricts, and  which,  in  that  year  of  sudden  upheaval,  placed  so 
much  of  our"  precious  inheritance,  for  a  time,  in  the  hands  of 
the  mob.  If  this  be  true,  there  are  patriotic  people  in  other 
cities  who  might  be  interested  in  this  record  of  that  strange 
manifestation  of  free  citizenship  and  sovereignty. 


PRELIMINARY  WORDS.  3 

Governments  and  free  institutions,  like  men  and  forest-trees, 
usually  begin  to  decay  and  to  die  at  the  top.  The  baldness  of 
the  head,  and  the  withered  top  branches  of  the  tree,  as  a  rule, 
will  show  where  the  frost  first  strikes,  and  weakness  begins. 
Cities  are  the  head  and  centres,  of  both  life- and  power  to  the 
whole  country,  whatever  may  be  the  character  of  the  civiliza- 
tion. In  these  are  the  latent  forces,  which  circumstances,  be- 
yond the  control  of  laws  and  courts,  may  readily  arouse  to  that 
fierce  energy,  which  carries  disease  to  society  and  death  to  the 
body  politic. 

Municipal  government,  in  our  country,  has  been  too  gener- 
ally deemed  of  small  importance  by  the  most  virtuous  and  in- 
telligent citizens.  Possibly  this  arises  from  the  persuasion,  that 
whatever  irregularities  in  city  rule  may  become  intolerable  can 
be  easily  righted,  by  the  higher  intelligence  and  stronger  arm 
of  the  commonwealth.  Or,  it  may  arise  from  the  humiliation 
and  irksomeness,  of  having  anything  to  do  with  local  politics, 
in  which  stupidity  and  shameless  dishonesty  so  peacefully  bunk 
together.  But  it  is  a  fact  generally  recognized,  that  the  best 
people  and  the  citizens  who  have  most  at  stake,  are  contented 
to  leave  the  municipal  management  to  the  wisdom  of  the  igno- 
rant, and  the  patriotism  of  the  vicious.  It  is  only  when  some 
great  upheaval,  like  that  of  1877  comes,  that  the  real  dangers, 
in  which  we  sleep  so  soundly  reveal  themselves,  and  we  learn 
that  the  peace  and  safety  of  a  continent  are  wrapped  up  in  the 
cities,  where  mobs  and  riots  are  nurtured,  and  set  free  to  tread 
down  all  law  and  work  ruin. 

"There  is  method  in  madness,"  it  is  said,  and  now  and  then 
that  method  is  clearly  traceable.  I  know  not  that  any  scientist 
has  ever  attempted  to  discover  or  reveal,  the  law  or  method 
of  mobs.  But  they  certainly  have  both  a  genesis  and  a  gen- 
eration; an  origin  and  a  mode  of  life  and  action.  Human  pas- 
sion moves  in  lines  and  tracks,  as  certain  and  as  easily  traced, 
as  do  human  thought  and  reason.     The  mob  of  one  country  or 


4  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

one  generation  corresponds  with  remarkable  accuracy  with 
that  of  all  countries  and  generations.  The  differences  are  rather 
of  degree  than  of  kind.  The  mob  anywhere  and  at  all  times, 
is  a  brainless  monster  with  a  cowardly  heart,  which  can  only 
be  begotten  of  a  lawless  spirit.  It  is  a  headless  force  whose 
vitality  is  to  be  found  in  its  whole  body.  Its  only  remedy  is 
quick  and  remorseless  force,  legally  organised,  and  under  the 
command  of  law. 

Hence  our  conviction,  that  the  history  of  the  danger  and 
deliverance  of  the  city  we  love  has  in  it  a  record  of  facts,  which 
may  be  of  significant  interest  and  use  to  other  cities  whose 
dangers  have  not  yet  become  manifest,  or  whose  methods  of 
dealing  with  the  monster  have  left  doubts  and  questions  un- 
solved. Nothing  can  be  more  clearly  demonstrated  than  the 
fact  that  the  legal  organization  of  a  military  guard,  made  up  of 
the  best  young  men  of  the  city,  who  have  ever  stood  ready  to 
resist  unto  death  every  attempt,  however  made  to  overpower 
law  and  order,  has  given  peace  and  safety  to  this  city  and  its 
vicinage.  The  history  of  strikes,  which  are  to  mobs  what  the 
egg  is  to  the  viper  which  the  sun  hatches  from  it;  and  of  law- 
less violence  in  the  coal-fields,  in  times  past;  and  the  remarkable 
peace  and  unbroken  business  prosperity,  which,  for  ten  years 
have  kept  step  with  the  march  of  "  The  Scranton  City  Guard," 
leave  no  room  to  question  the  relations  of  the  one  to  the  other. 
In  the  production  of  this  work,  the  author  desires  to  say,  that 
he  has  sought  to  gather  about  him  the  people,  who  twenty  years 
from  now  may  be  disposed  to  inquire  touching  the  work,  the 
wisdom,  and  patriotism  of  their  fathers,  rather  than  present 
readers.  Twenty  years  from  now  the  necessarily  sharp  per- 
sonal mention,  which  characterizes  the  book,  will  be  softened 
by  the  shadows  which  time  casts  over  the  procession  of  human 
life.  He  has  tried  to  do  justice  to  all  the  actors  in  the  scenes 
of  ten  years  ago;  and  certainly  to  deal  charitably  with  all. 
With  all  the  patience  of  which  he  is  capable,  and  with  exhaust- 


PRELIMINARY  WORDS.  5 

ing  labor,  without  further  expectation  of  reward  than  success- 
ful work  brings  with  it,  he  has  gathered  up  the  facts,  and  woven 
them  together  with  what  skill  he  was  master  of.  While  he  has 
omitted  much,  doubtless,  which  both  the  members  of  the  Guard 
and  citizens  who  were  actors  of  the  time  would  find  interesting, 
he  has  recorded  nothing  which  he  has  not  clear  ground  for 
believir  g  to  be  true. 

With  these  preliminary  words,  this  work  of  weary  and  per- 
plexing hours  is  committed  to  the  charitable  consideration  of 
all  who  may  feel  interest  enough  to  worry  through  its  pages, 
with  this  comforting  reflection,  that  however  wearied  the  reader 
may  be  with  the  reading,  he  cannot  be  more  so  than  is  the 
author  with  the  writing. 


A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  EMPLOYERS. 

Business  Disturbances  of  1877 — The  Causes  which  Produced  and  Conditions  which 
Determined  their   Character — The  Real  Issue — Order  or  Anarchy. 

THE  summer  of  1877  was  a  season  of  peculiar  prostration, 
and  derangement  of  industries,  of  all  sorts,  in  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania.  Indeed  from  the  collapse  and  panic  of  1873 
there  had  been  but  a  partial  recovery.  Almost  a  steady  de- 
cline of  the  prosperity  which  had  so  rapidly  developed-  the  re- 
sources, and  inaugurated  the  magnificent  schemes  of  industry 
in  the  whole  country,  could  be  traced  through  these  years. 
Long-continued  prosperity  had  educated  the  population  gen- 
erally to  habits  of  extravagance  in  their  domestic  economy, 
and  to  a  spirit  of  venturesome  speculation.  Associated  capi- 
tal had  worked  wonders,  and  possibly  had  grown  arrogant. 
Labor,  both  skilled  and  unskilled,  had  learned  to  place  a  value 
upon  itself  that  past  experience  had  never  justified.  But  during 
the  last  four  years  business  had  suffered  a  heavy  pressure  and 
gradual  decline.  The  case  became  more  aggravated,  and  the 
peace  of  the  country  began  to  be  disturbed  by  the  agitation  of 
the  subtle  questions  between  capital  and  labor,  which  have 
never  been  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  either  the  intelligent  or 
the  ignorant. 

If  capital  must  associate  in  order  to  reach  the  best  profits, 
or  secure  the  highest  results  in  the  development  of  industries, 
it  would  seem  logically  to  suggest  that  labor  should  also 
combine  and  fix  its  own  price  in  the  market:   Biu;  this  particu- 


THE   WORKMEN   AND   THEIR  EMPLOYERS.  7 

lar  issue  only  gave  birth  to  a  multitude  of  questions,  which  were 
pondered  under  the  shadows  of  adversity,  and  discussed  about 
the  doors  of  silent  work-shops,  until  a  feeling  of  discouragement 
and  distrust  assumed  the  place  of  courage  and  hope,  in  the 
life  of  the  working  people.  The  laws  of  moral  right  became 
confused  with  the  demands  of  prudent  wisdom  and  business 
economy,  in  the  minds  both  of  employers  and  workmen;  until 
a  latent,  but  ominous  opposition  became  manifest  between  the 
office  and  the  shop.  The  necessary  contraction  of  business 
and  a  healthy  competition,  compelled  the  great  railway  corpo- 
rations all  over  the  country  to  reduce  both  their  force  and  the 
wages  of  their  operatives,  at  a  time  when  the  want  of  faith,  en- 
gendered by  controversy,  and  the  long-continued  sufferings  of 
workmen,  combined  to  arouse  the  war  spirit.  Individual  res- 
ponsibility was  too  readily  shifted  to  the  charge  of  society 
leagues,  associations  and  combinations  without  conscience, 
for  the  protection  of  capital  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  labor  on 
the  other. 

Within  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  the  suffering 
and  derangement  incident  to  this  general  depression  of  business 
enterprise,  seemed  to  produce  greater  complications,  and  more 
dangerous  dissatisfaction  ;  from  the  fact  that  the  coal  and  iron 
interests,  upon  which  almost  all  business  enterprises  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  State  in  a  measure  depend,  had  suffered  most. 

In  consequence  of  the  enforced  limited  production,  both  of 
coal  and  iron,  and  the  low  prices,  and  narrow  market,  the  con- 
dition of  the  miner  and  worker  in  iron,  became  hard  indeed. 
This  condition  was  doubly  hard  from  the  two  evils  of  short 
time  and  low  wages.  With  commendable  fortitude  and  pa- 
tience, for  three  years,  the  miners  and  workers  in  the  iron-mills, 
throughout  the  anthracite  regions,  had  continued  in  the  works, 
hoping  for  better  times  as  each  spring  opened,  only  to  find  as 
the  season  passed  their  expectations  disappointed  and  their  lot 
growing  harder.     Each   succeeding  winter  found  them  more 


8  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND 'DEFENSE. 

straitened,  and  employment  more  difficult  to  be  obtained. 
The  actual  sufferings  of  many  of  the  honest  and  worthy  work- 
men were  very  great,  and  their  manly  endurance  entitled  them 
to  the  respect  and  sympathy  of  all  good  men.  In  the  Lacka- 
wanna and  Wyoming  Valleys  men  were  discovered  who  went 
to  their  daily  work  in  the  mines  without  breakfast;  and,  to 
avoid  the  confession  of  their  poverty,  they  carried  their  empty 
dinner  cans  with  them,  contented  with  one  meal  when  their 
day's  work  was  done,  if,  thereby,  their  families  could  be  kept 
from  unendurable  sufferings.  The  majority  seemed  to  grasp 
the  situation,  and  realize  that  the  remedy  was  beyond  the  power 
of  either  corporations  or  capitalists,  and  they  patiently  did  the 
best  they  could  with  what  they  had.  In  many  cases  they  had 
unwisely  run  their  credit  with  the  smaller  merchants  and 
grocers,  upon  their  long  deferred  hopes,  until  these  traders  were 
compelled  to  close  their  doors,  and  leave  their  own  creditors 
crippled  or  ruined  under  the  inexorable  laws  of  trade  ;  thereby 
demonstrating,  that  faith  and  patience  are  necessary  factors  in 
the  business  affairs  of  civilized  society. 

Another  unfortunate  result  of  this  continued  depression  and 
derangement  of  industries  was  the  wandering  and  migration 
of  laborers  and  operatives.  Either  driven  by  necessity  from 
their  homes,  or  enticed  by  the  imagined  better  prospects  in 
other  fields  of  enterprise,  these  workmen  were  found  wandering 
all  over  the  country.  These  migrations  were  joined  too  by 
that  vagabond  population,  the  worthless  and  dishonest,  which 
under  such  a  stress  find  it  comparatively  easy  to  insinuate 
themselves  into  an  association  with  the  decent,  and  unfortunate. 
Every  community  became  more  or  less  afflicted  with  worthless 
tramps,  ready  to  lead  in  any  movement  for  plunder,  upon  the 
plea  of  honest  necessity,  or  that  of  righting  the  wrongs  of  "the 
working  men."  There  are  found  in  almost  every  community 
some  evil  disposed  persons,  who  think  of  no  remedy  for 
trouble  or  disaster,  except  to  exaggerate   or  magnify  it,  and 


THE   WORKMEN  AND   THEIR   EMPLOYERS.  9 

who  appear  to  gather  strength  to  bear  affliction  by  seeking  to 
make  it  a  common  inheritance.  Such  people  grow  reckless 
under  trials,  and  dangerous  under  temptations, .  even  though 
intending  to  walk  in  paths  of  virtue. 

These  classes  were  all  thrown  together  in  the  early  summer 
of  1877,  by  the  affinities  of  a  common  affliction  ;  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, the  foolish  and  evil  disposed  early  came  to  the  front. 
These  evilly  disposed  men  took  every  occasion  to  denounce 
"  the  corporations,"  and  employers,  as  the  cause  of  hard  times; 
and  their  grasping  tyranny,  as  the  source  of  all  the  misery  of 
the  poor  man.  It  was  claimed,  openly  and  constantly,  that 
the  employer,  or  superintendent,  expended  his  efforts  for  the 
oppression  of  the  workmen  in  order  to  enrich  himself,  or  his 
friends,  out  of  the  profits  of  labor.  So  the  doctrines  of  com- 
munism began  to  be  discussed  and  announced,  in  the  associa- 
tions of  the  men  who  were  seeking  to  better  their  condition. 

The  comfort  and  prosperity  which  industry  and  wise  econo- 
my had  brought  to  the  more  careful,  became  in  the  eyes  of  the 
unfortunate  and  vicious  only  visible  signs  of  the  sin  of  op- 
pressing the  poor.  The  infamous  tenets  of  communism  began 
to  be  discussed  in  the  shops,  as  well  as  in  the  sloughs,  and 
their  announcements  were  now  and  then  heard  as  an  ominous 
rumble  along  the  public  streets,  portending  the  social  earth- 
quake, by  which  the  foundations  should  be  removed,  leaving 
no  standing  place  for  the  righteous. 

This  whole  condition  of  danger  and  distress,  was  further 
aggravated  by  the  existence,  in  almost  every  community,  of  a 
class  of  small,  pot-house  politicians,  who  perpetually  seek  to 
identify  themselves  with  the  working-men.  "  Workers  in 
brass,"  they  might  be  styled,  if  a  wide  distinction  is  kept  in 
mind,  between  the  kind  of  brass  with  which  they  fill  the  mar- 
ket, and  the  beautiful  metal  with  which  honest,  and  real  workers 
adorn  society.  These  parasites  of  the  laborers,  in  a  country, 
in  the  highest  sense  free  to  all  workers,  seem  to  find  a  precari- 


10  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

ous  existence  in  all  communities  outside  of  the  rural  districts, 
and  appear  to  be  infested  with  the  notion  that  they  are  needed 
for  the  wise  conduct  of  public  affairs.  They  are,  they  conclude, 
fitted  by  nature  for  the  filling  of  any  office  that  may  happen 
to  be  vacant  ;  but  are  impressed  with  a  special  call  for  the  mak- 
ing and  administration  of  laws.  They  are  able  to  trace  all  de- 
pressions in  business,  and  all  sufferings  of  both  the  unfortunate 
and  the  vicious,  simply  to  the  defects  of  the  government,  or 
to  the  dishonesty  of  officials. 

These  seekers  after  office,  and  incidentally,  a  generous  sup- 
port  from  the  public  treasury,  ever  awake  to  the  possibilities 
of  personal  advantage,  early  saw,  in  the  general  discontent  and 
real  suffering  of  the  laboring  classes,  their  opportunity.  They 
at  once  sought  the  place  of  leaders  and  counsellors.  This  dan- 
gerous class  of  public  aspirants  added  fuel  to  the  smouldering 
fires,  which,  through  the  dreary  winter  and  early  spring  of 
1877  were  filling  the  air  and  blearing  the  vision  of  honest  men 
throughout  the  coal  region. 

Labor  associations  and  brotherhoods  of  skilled  workmen 
were  sought  for,  by  these  restless  patriots,  that  they  might  be 
converted  into  political  machines,  or  forces  for  the  securing  of 
personal  positions.  Labor  organizations  and  "trades  unions," 
with  legitimate  aims,  existed  all  over  the  land,  and  under  or- 
dinary circumstances  were  doubtlessof  great  benefit  to  their 
members  in  various  ways.  But  their  power  was  perverted  and 
used  by  a  great  body  of  the  ignorant  and  vicious  to  eliminate 
personal  responsibility,  and  limit  individual  liberty.  So  these 
societies  and  brotherhoods  easily  passed  out  of  the  control  of 
their  best  men. 

The  next  step,  toward  which  the  apprehended  wrongs  and 
real  sufferings,  of  the  workmen  hastened  these  associations, 
made  them  mighty  forces  of  oppression ;  and  hence  of  real 
apprehension  of  danger  on  the  part  of  all  good  men.  They  as- 
sumed to  control  all  workmen  in  their  particular  line  of  work ; 


THE  WORKMEN   AND   THEIR   EMPLOYERS.  11 

not  simply  by  fixing  the  price  of  their  wages,  but  by  deciding 
when,  and  for  whom,  they  should  be  permitted  to  work.  With 
the  promise  to  take  care  of  faithful  members,  and  support  their 
dependent  charges,  from  the  common  purse,  these  societies 
multiplied  adherents  until  they  were  able  to  control  the  major- 
ity of  the  working-men  of  the  community.  Then  by  force  of 
public  opinion,  or  by  the  menace  of  violence,  they  placed  the 
minority  in  the  position  in  which  compliance  with  their  orders 
would  seem  to  be  a  necessity.  When  the  association  ordered 
a  strike  in  any  particular  department  of  labor,  it  required  more 
than  ordinary  courage  for  any  workman  of  that  department 
to  continue  his  work,  whether  he  belonged  to  the  association 
or  not.  He  was  compelled  to  live  among  the  members  of 
these  leagues,  and  the  power  of  public  opinion  is  a  force  which 
few  men  are  able  successfully  to  defy. 

It  was  a  humiliating  fact  demonstrated  in  the  history  of 
strikes  in  the  Anthracite  coal-fields,  that  through  the  influence 
and  unlawful  methods  of  these  organizations,  the  great  majority 
of  workmen,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  the  postulates  of 
communism  and  whose  judgment  decided  that  it  was  wiser  to 
work  for  reduced  wages  than  to  cease  work,  were,  nevertheless, 
controlled  by  a  miserable  minority. 

Perhaps  the  most  extensive,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most 
intelligent,  of  these  societies,  at  that  time  existing  in  the  country, 
was  that  of  the  railway  operatives,  which  was  styled  "  the  Broth- 
erhood of  Locomotive  EnginetVs ;"  intimately  associated  with 
which  was  the  Brotherhood  of  Firemen  and  Brakemen. 

Little  can  be  said  with  regard  to  the  real  character  and  de- 
signs of  these  organizations.  They  were  all  secret  organizations 
which  gave  every  sign  of  wise  and  fair  administration.  They 
were  understood  to  have  for  their  specific  object  the  protection 
of  the  interests  of  locomotive  engineers,  and  other  train  opera- 
tors, under  the  law ;  rather  than  the  control  of  railways,  and 
railway  corporations.     Up  to  the  general  movement  of  1877, 


12  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

these  associations  not  only  held  the  confidence,  but,  in  a  marked 
degree,  the  very  warm  sympathy  of  citizens  generally.  They 
were  considered,  rather,  as  healthy  and  necessary  institutions, 
under  a  system  of  railway  competition  and  administration,  in 
which  the  labor,  the  danger  and  real  worth  of  train  operators 
were  liable  to  be  forgotten,  or  hidden  by  the  shadows  of  the 
great  schemes  of  transportation.  The  public  generally,  openly 
sympathized  with  what  was  understood  to  be  the  spirit  and 
intention  of  these  brotherhoods  so  closely  allied.  Their  moral 
force  was  felt  in  all  the  principal  towns  along  railway  lines. 
These  brotherhoods,  it  was  supposed,  proposed  and  even  at- 
tempted to  include  in  their  membership,  or  under  their  efficient 
influence,  every  man  who  could  be  trusted  to  run  a  locomotive, 
or  conduct  a  train.  Hence,  the  Locomotive  Brotherhood  held 
in  some  sort  of  relationship  to  itself,  the  Firemen's  and  Brake- 
men's  organization;  and  all  such  other  railway  operatives  as 
were  deemed  necessary  to  the  safe  running  of  trains.  The  grasp 
of  its  power,  in  1877,  reached,  with  more  or  less  distinctness, 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf. 

The  competition  in  the  great  trunk  lines,  since  the  hard  times 
had  begun,  had  doubtless  pressed  the  corporations  beyond  the 
possibilities  of  a  healthy  business;  and  in  many  cases  drove 
them  into  measures  of  retrenchment  and  economy,  more  effec- 
tive than  just;  and  the  general  tendency  very  naturally  was 
understood  to  be  towards  the  oppression  of  the  operatives.  In 
some  cases  the  force  was  diminished,  while  the  same  amount  of 
work  was  demanded ;  in  others  the  wages  were  reduced  so  low 
that  professional  engineers  were  humiliated  and  crowded  out 
by  half  educated  men,  who  could  afford  to  work  cheaper.  The 
aim  seemed  almost  universal,  to  require  more  work,  fewer 
hands,  and  cheaper  service.  This  systematic  and  general  re- 
duction of  expenses,  both  wise  and  necessary,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances ;  when  continued  through  a  series  of  years,  revealed 
to  the  operatives,  as  they  supposed,  the  determination  to  make 


THE  WORKMEN  AND   THEIR   EMPLOYERS.  13 

the  railways  successful  at  the  expense  of  the  engineers  and 
trainmen.  It  was  doubtless  this  persuasion,  whether  ground- 
less or  just,  which  produced  such  activity  and  gave  such  effici- 
ency to  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  from  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1877.  In  the  opening  of  the  summer 
there  were  ominous  signs  of  energy  in  this  association  ;  whose 
counsels  were  kept  with  wise  secrecy,  and  whose  interests 
seemed  to  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  men  who  would 
appear  to  be  well  fitted  to  command  whole  armies. 

The  railway  corporations  found  signs  multiplying  through 
the  months  of  May  and  June  of  dissatisfaction,  and  of  the  ex- 
istence of  a  widely  organized  force,  with  which  they  might  at 
any  time  be  brought  into  collision.  Here  and  there  were  fre- 
quent small  skirmishes,  or  acts  of  individual  resistance,  which 
gave  prophecy  of  a  coming  battle.  The  general  uneasiness 
along  all  the  lines  of  travel  became  manifest,  then  grew  painful, 
as  it  generally  exaggerated  the  moving  forces,  as  well  as  the 
ultimate  intentions,  of  the  employees.  Signs  of  agreement  and 
combination  of  the  great  trunk  lines,  for  the  control  of  competi- 
tion and  the  reduction  of  expenses,  multiplied ;  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  these  trunk  lines  gathered,  from  time  to  time,  in 
conferences  ;  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers 
grew  silent  and  mysterious. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1877,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  in 
answer,  it  was  said,  to  the  demands  of  other  great  trunk  lines, 
took  off  its  fast  line  from  New  York  to  Chicago,  and  at  the 
same  time  published  an  order  reducing  the  wages  of  all  em- 
ployees of  that  road  ten  per  cent.  This  reduction  was  required 
to  take  effect  upon  the  first  day  of  the  following  June,  with 
only  three  days  notice.  Thus  there  would  be  saved  a  million 
and  a  half  dollars  to  the  railroad  out  of  the  wages  of  the  men 
employed  to  run  it.  This  action  of  the  great  corporation 
shocked  the  moral  sense  of  the  people,  and  was  denounced  as 
little  removed  from  simple  robbery.     It  awoke  a  deep,  out- 


14  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

spoken  sympathy  with  the  Brotherhood  of  Trainmen  in  all  the 
cities  along  the  lines,  and  especially  among  the  justice-loving 
people  of  Pittsburgh. 

On  the  same  day  the  managers  of  the  great  lines  met  by 
their  representatives  in  Chicago.  They  u  pooled  their  freights  " 
at  this  meeting,  and  fixed  the  price  of  transportation  on  all  the 
main  lines,  east  and  west. 

On  the  30th  of  May,  the  day  succeeding  the  announcement 
of  the  ten  per  cent,  reduction  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  met  in  Jersey  City, 
New  Jersey.  Their  proceedings  were  nof  open  to  the  public; 
but  it  was  evident  that  they  were  attempting  to  organize  an 
opposition  to  this  action  of  the  roads,  by  which  their  interests 
were  so  vitally  touched.  The  railway  combination  had  consol- 
idated these  interests,  and  removed  the  possibility  of  divided 
counsels.  The  grievance  was  made  almost  universal  by  the 
simultaneous  reduction  on  so  many  railways,  and  it  required 
no  apparent  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Brotherhoods  to  extend 
their  organizations,  increase  their  membership,  or  consolidate 
their  forces.  Their  delegated  assemblies  and  executive  com- 
mittees met  without  public  notice,  with  closed  doors,  and  went 
forward  in  their  daily  duties  without  report,  or  statements  of 
grievance.  They  made  no  reply  to  the  notice  of  the  reductions 
ordered  to  take  place  so  suddenly,  but  their  activity  and  suc- 
cess in  extending  their  union,  and  the  preparation  for  some 
kind  of  action  became  manifest. 

From  this  30th  day  of  May  rumors  and  reports  of  the  secret 
meetings  of  the  association  of  Railroad  Directors  and  Opera- 
tors on  one  hand  and  of  the  Brotherhoods  of  the  Railroad 
Operators  on  the  other,  spread  over  the  whole  country,  aggra- 
vating the  feelings  of  apprehension  among  all  classes  of  people, 
without  affording  the  means  of  a  correct  knowledge,  of  either 
their  unity  of  action,  or  of  their  demands  and  intentions. 

Superintendents  and  boards  of  management  seemed  to  set 


THE  WORKMEN  AND   THEIR   EMPLOYERS.  15 

their  faces  against  these  organizations,  and  put  forth  efforts  to 
feel  their  strength ;  while  from  the  very  silence  and  order  of 
their  employees  they  augured  submission,  and  persuaded  them- 
selves there  would  be  no  strike,  certainly  after  all  the  main 
roads  had  ordered  the  ten  per  cent,  reduction  of  June  ist. 
For  forty-eight  days  the  sweep  of  business  and  commerce  was 
uninterrupted.  The  heavy  trains  thundered  across  the  con- 
tinent, north  and  south,  east  and  west.  The  locomotive 
whistled  with  as  much  sonorous  joy  as  though  no  heavy 
hearts  were  borne  along  the  highways  of  business  and  pleas- 
ure. As  in  the  days  of  Noah,  the  people,  in  the  face  of  all 
portents  and  prophecies,  pushed  the  pursuits  of  life,  "  married 
and  were  given  in  marriage,"  "  bought  and  sold,"  billed  their 
goods,  and  demanded  fulfillment  of  contracts,  until  the  very 
day  that  the  heavens  were  opened,  and  the  fountains  of  the 
deep  were  broken  up  ;  so  the  corporations,  and  the  people, 
augured  peace.  They  all  went  their  ways  with  apprehension 
quieted  by  the  lull  that  precedes  the  storm,  reassured  by  the 
patient  fidelity  of  the  trainmen,  at  so  much  of  whose  sacrifice 
the  wheels  of  a  mighty  commerce  were  moving  through  the 
land.  Preparations  were  made  for  moving  the  bountiful  har- 
vest with  which  the  land  had  been  blessed,  with  confidence,  on 
the  part  of  the  great  railway  corporations.  The  price  of  freights 
had  been  fixed  and  covenants  sealed.  The  vast  wheat  fields 
were  being  gladdened  with  the  song  of  the  reapers  throughout 
the  whole  country;  and  stockholders  smiled  at  the  prospect  of 
realizing  long  delayed  dividends. 

The  vast  trains  moved  on  without  interruption  as  a  life  pulse 
of  civilization,  freighted  with  providential  blessing  for  a  whole 
land.  The  Brotherhoods  of  trainmen,  burdened  with  the 
wrongs  of  honest  and  industrious  men,  continued  to  meet 
without  publicity,  and  depart  on  their  way  of  duty,  with 
neither  apparent  excitement  nor  complaint,  up  to  the  16th  day 
of  July,  just  forty-eight  days  after  the  great  reduction  had 


16  A   CITY'S   DANGER   AND   DEFENSE. 

overtaken  them.  Generally,  throughout  this  period  the  pros- 
pect for  peace  and  business  prosperity,  was  reassuring  and 
even  exhilarating. 

The  special  exception  to  this  hopeful  outlook,  and  prospec- 
tive prosperity  of  business,  existed  throughout  the  anthracite 
coal-fields.  Here  the  dissatisfaction  rather  increased  than 
diminished  throughout  the  month  of  June.  Many  causes  for 
the  increasing  depression  existed  throughout  this  region.  Most 
of  the  business  interests  of  the  northeastern  portion  of  Penn- 
sylvania were  involved  in  the  mining  of  coal,  and  the  manufac- 
turing of  iron  and  steel.  No  great  trunk  fines  passed  through 
the  region  to  enrich  the  roads,  or  quicken  the  towns  in  the 
coal-fields.  The  abundant  harvests  of  the  West  could  give 
little  hope  of  special  blessing  to  either  miners  or  makers  of 
steel.  The  monthly  sales  of  coal,  in  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, constantly  declined,  both  as  to  amount  and  price,  until 
the  27th  day  of  June — only  two  days  before  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  ordered  its  great  reduction — when  these  sales  fell 
below  $2.50  a  ton,  thereby  giving  assurance  to  laborers,  miners 
and  operators  alike,  that  profit  in  the  business  was  impossible. 
It  could  only  be  a  question  with  the  coal  companies  as  to  how, 
and  how  few  of  their  breakers  could  be  run,  so  as  to  keep  the 
laborers  and  miners  from  actual  want.  The  mills  piled  up 
their  steel  rails  in  their  yards,  in  order  to  keep  the  mills 
going,  and  prevent  their  skilled  labor  from  being  compelled  to 
migrate;  or  else  measured  their  industry  by  the  orders  they 
received  from  roads  which  were  practicing  the  most  rigid 
economy. 

A  settled  gloom  seemed  to  have  fallen  on  the  whole  com- 
munity. Men  who  were  in  the  habit  of  thinking  ceased  to 
talk ;  workmen  lost  their  cheerfulness,  and  wandered  about, 
the  greater  part  of  the  time,  idle  or  worn-out  in  the  vain  search 
for  openings  of  greater  promise.  Everything  seemed  ominous 
and  uncertain.    Yet  adjustments  were  made  with  kindness,  and 


THE  WORKMEN  AND   THEIR  EMPLOYERS.  17 

apparent  cordiality,  by  superintendents  and  workmen.  The 
workmen  suffered  grievously,  but  patiently  in  general,  because 
they  saw  no  remedy. 

In  addition  to  this  darkness  of  the  business  outlook,  the 
great  body  of  working  people  had  been  much  affected  by  the 
experiences  of  the  last  seven  years.  The  long  strike  of  1870 
and  1 87 1  had  left  its  scars  and  wounds,  which  had  been  bound 
up  with  respectable  skill,  but  had  never  been  entirely  healed. 
There  had  been  social  disorders  in  different  portions  of  the 
coal-fields  and  disturbances,  which  were  used  by  designing 
men  to  weaken  the  social  compact,  and  destroy  faith  between 
classes  and  races  of  the  people. 

The  league  of  communists  and  assassins  known  as  the  Molly 
Maguires,  had  struck  down  many  a  good  man  in  the  dark  ; 
and  by  mysterious,  and  most  wicked  murders,  in  widely  sepa- 
rated districts,  had  impressed  the  people  with  exaggerated 
convictions  of  the    numbers    and  extent  of  this  association, 
whose  symbols  were  the  coffin  and  the  cross-bones.     Since 
the  days  of  the  assassins  of  Mount  Ephraim,  who  desolated 
the  land  of  Israel,  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  such  a  wicked, 
remorseless,  and  bloody  league  of  murderers  had  hardly  been 
known  to  exist  in  civilized  society.     By  its  peculiar  wanton- 
ness and  the  cruelty  of  its  modes  of  vengeance,  it  exposed 
offenders   and  innocent   citizens  alike.     Victims,  singled  out 
and  condemned  to  death  in  any  community,  were  required  to 
be  slain  by  assassins  who  were  entire  strangers  to  them.    The 
members  appointed  to  the  bloody  work  traveled  thirty,  forty, 
and  fifty  miles,  and  came  by  night,  into  the  towns  and  neighbor- 
hoods they  had  never  visited  before,  and  with  such  descrip- 
tions and  way-marks  as  could  be  furnished  them,  they  waylaid 
their  doomed  victims,  and  left  them  in  their  blood.     Without 
notice,  or  knowledge  of  the  offense  ;  without  either  accuser  or 
known  accusation,  faithful  men,  who  had  become  obnoxious  to 
these  pretended  laborers,  were  stricken  down  by  the  assassins 
2 


18  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

who  had  never  seen  them  except  through  the  sights  of  their 
guns.  Thus  it  happened  that  men  wholly  innocent,  and  who 
were  not  known  to  have  any  enemies  on  earth,  were  sometimes 
shot  or  stabbed  by  mistake.  So  whole  communities  were 
smitten  with  that  fear  and  want  of  faith  in  their  neighbors, 
which  murders  society  itself,  and  makes  a  hell  upon  earth. 
Doubtless  the  congress  of  thieves,  which  the  great  Centennial 
Exhibition  of  1876  had  gathered  in  the  country,  had  left  suffi- 
cient material  for  the  organization  of  a  Molly  Maguire  Society 
in  almost  any  community  of  Pennsylvania.  For  it  was  simply 
an  association  of  thieves  and  murderers.  "No  man  could  guess 
out  the  extent  of  the  organization  whose  tracks  of  blood  were 
visible,  with  more  or  less  distinctness,  all  over  the  coal-fields 
and  through  these  peaceful  valleys 

A  heroic  detective  (James  McParlan  by  name),  under  direc- 
tion of  President  Gowen,  of  the  Reading  Railroad,  in  1876,  de- 
voted himself  to  the  work  of  ferreting  out,  and  bringing  to  jus- 
tice, this  league  of  assassins.  He  joined  their  society;  went  into 
their  haunts,  and  gained  their  confidence.  He  was  made  secre- 
tary of  one  of  their  lodges.  For  a  whole  year  he  pretended  to 
do  their  bidding,  and  pushed  his  work  of  inquiry  with  sleepless 
vigilance  and  sublime  courage.  By  his  energy  about  twenty  of 
these  assassins  were  tracked  and  brought  to  be  weighed  in  the 
scales  cf  justice.  On  the  21st  day  of  June,  1877,  eleven  of  these 
convicted  murderers  were  hung.  Six  of  them  at  Pottsville 
four  at  Mauch  Chunk,  and  one  at  Wilkesbarre.  Others  were 
still  held  in  jail  at  Bloomsburg,  with  good  prospect  of  convic- 
tion. 

Fifteen  years  had  passed  since  the  coal-fields  had  begun  to 
be  afflicted  with  the  outrages  of  this  secret  organization,  which 
had  grown  bold  by  its  impunity.  Outrages  which  swept  the 
whole  scale  of  crime,  from  robbery  and  arson  to  murder  in 
daylight,  became  in  some  places  of  frequent  occurrence. 

Some  of  these  murders  were  committed  in  the  presence  of 


THE  WORKMEN  AND  THEIR   EMPLOYERS.  19 

orderly  citizens,  on  the  streets  and  highways  in  the  light  of 
day.  But  if  a  man  were  arrested  for  such  crimes,  the  devices 
of  the  order  could  always  find  evidence  to  prove  an  alibi  ;  or 
means  to  pack,  or  terrorize  a  jury,  or  to  cut  the  sinews  of  the 
courts  of  justice.  No  man  cared  to  risk  the  results  of  opposi- 
tion to  such  wickedness,  for  no  man's  life  was  thought  to  ba 
worth  insuring  after  he  had  once  really  offended  the  order  or 
one  of  its  members.  Within  fourteen  years,  twelve  prominent 
citizens  in  their  own  communities,  were  assassinated  while 
attempted  murders,  robberies,  riots  and  the  burning  of  property, 
which  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  number,  followed  in  their 
secret  paths.  Such  were  the  acts  which  defined  the  spirit  and 
revealed  the  power  of  this  secret  league.  Yet  in  all  that  time 
the  law  was  powerless  ;  by  the  prostitution  of  courts,  or  the 
dismay  and  want  of  faith,  which  prevailed  among  the  people. 

Until  the  detective  had  ferreted  out  the  diabolical  league,  not 
a  single  conviction  of  one  of  its  members  for  murder  had  been 
obtained.  When  the  first  conviction  was  made  it  was  mainly 
upon  the  testimony  of  witnesses  who  fourteen  years  before  pos- 
sessed the  knowledge,  and  yet  had  given  testimony  which 
suffered  the  murderers  to  escape.  They  now  gave  as  the  reason 
for  the  suppression  of  their  knowledge,  the  fact  that  they  were 
afraid  for  their  lives. 

Throughout  these  years  of  secret  outrage,  and  open  violence, 
consternation,  more  or  less,  prevailed  throughout  the  coal- 
fields, among  miners  and  employers  alike.  Laborers  became 
frightened  and  refused  to  work ;  or  were  swept  along  by  the 
demands  of  the  strikers,  and  secret-order  men  they  had  neither 
the  power,  nor  courage,  to  resist.  Company  officials  and  mine 
bosses  were,  in  many  places,  afraid  to  leave  their  homes  alone 
either  by  night  or  day.  Many  of  them  received  notices  either 
to  leave  the  field  or  expect  to  be  killed.  Thus  a  reign  of  terror 
was  inaugurated  through  some  portions  of  the  coal-fields  where 
faithful  men  were  exposed,  and  might  expect  to  be  murdered, 


20  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE 

for  no  reason,  except  their  fidelity  to  their  trusts.  Superinten- 
dents found  it  dangerous  to  dismiss  a  worthless  laborer,  lest, 
perchance,  he  belonged  to  the  secret  order ;  and  industrious 
miners  and  laborers,  whose  families  were  suffering,  dared  not 
work,  unless  a  sufficient  guard  was  provided. 

This  truth  was  demonstrated,  as  well  as  that  of  the  healthful- 
ness  of  pluck,  and  manly  courage,  in  the  City  of  Scranton  in 
1 87 1  at  the  close  of  the  long  strike.  Here  a  number  of  miners 
and  laborers  came  to  Mr.  W.  W.  Scranton,  a  young  man  then 
in  the  employ  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  &  Coal  Company  (the 
son  of  Joseph  H.  Scranton,  the  worthy  president  of  the  com- 
pany), and  proposed  to  work  the  mine  at  Briggs  shaft,  if  he 
would  furnish  them  a  guard  in  passing  to  and  from  their  work, 
and  lead  it  himself.  These  miners  had  a  profound  confidence 
in  the  courage  of  the  young  man.  This  proposition  he  ac- 
cepted, and  with  a  squad  of  soldiers,  he  led  the  workers  to  their 
task  in  the  morning  and  returned  them  to  their  homes  safely 
in  the  evening.  On  the  second  day,  as  they  returned,  a  crowd 
of  idle  and  vicious  people  had  gathered,  and  with  hootings  and 
eager  demonstrations,  sought  to  excite  a  mob  and  bring  their 
labor  to  an  end.  Whether  an  actual  attack  was  made  by  the 
leaders  of  this  crowd  upon  the  guard,  or  whether  they  only 
gave  such  demonstrations  as  to  disturb  the  poise  of  the  guard, 
has  never  been  settled.  But  one  of  the  miners  who  had  been 
struck,  fired  a  shot  without  orders,  by  which  two  leaders  of  the 
mob  were  instantly  killed,  and  thus  the  great  strike  of  1871 
ended. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  mutual  distrust  created  and  fostered 
by  such  a  deluge  of  crime,  through  a  period  of  years,  between 
workmen  and  employers,  could  not  be  removed  by  the  appa- 
rent peaceful  adjustments  of  great  railway  corporations,  or  new 
promises  of  a  revival  of  business.  This  reign  of  terror  so  long 
continued  left  its  impressions  of  the  insecurity,  both  of  property 
and  life,  only  to  deepen  the  fissure  between  capital  and  labor. 


THE  WORKMEN  AND   THEIR   EMPLOYERS.  21 

It  tended  perpetually  to  interrupt  and  weaken  that  faith  be- 
tween employers  and  workmen,  without  which  charity  and 
equitable  dealing  are  impossible.  The  hanging  of  eleven  assas- 
sins, on  one  day,  did  indeed  cheer  the  people  with  the  hope 
that  the  backbone  of  this  mystery  of  wickedness  had  been 
broken ;  but  there  were  multitudes  of  people  who  were  fully 
persuaded  that  the  monster  still  had  life. 

The  punishment  of  these  men  did  much  towards  the  restora- 
tion of  confidence  in  the  courts  and  the  power  of  law,  but 
these  courts  were  still  at  the  mercy  of  the  politicians,  and  of 
cowardly  witnesses.  The  people  knew,  or  thought  they  knew, 
of  a  hundred  more  who  were  yet  at  large,  and  only  waiting 
the  opportunity  for  vengeance  and  rapine.  The  confidence,  so 
long  interrupted,  could  only  be  restored  by  years  of  honest  and 
open  dealings  in  the  business  affairs  of  the  community.  The 
spirit  of  distrust  had  smitten  all  walks  of  life,  but  its  tendency 
was  to  segregate  the  people  into  two  great  classes.  The  men 
of  business  and  property,  on  the  one  hand ;  and  those  who 
worked  for  wages,  or  hire,  upon  the  other.  Injustice  was  con- 
stantly to  be  apprehended  on  both  sides,  and  wrong,  doubtless, 
was  suffered  by  both  employers  and  workmen,  which  could 
only  have  been  prevented  by  the  restoration  of  confidence, 
which,  under  the  circumstances  and  passions  of  the  times,  was 
impossible. 

Superintendents  and  company  officials,  with  large  interests 
and  responsibilities,  "  spotted  "  now  and  then  honest  and  true 
men,  possibly  because  of  their  own  exaggerated  fears,  and 
quietly  dismissed  them  without  sufficient  or  apparent  reason, 
thinking  them  to  be  connected  with  this  league  of  death.  The 
workers  in  the  shops  looked  with  jealousy  and  unjust  appre- 
hension upon  every  new  or  strange  worker  placed  beside 
them,  and  made  demands  upon  employers  for  their  dismissal, 
which  were  preposterous  and  which  were  founded,  probably, 
upon  the  same  fears. 


22  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Committees  of  complainers,  burdened  with  grievances  of 
workmen,  wore  smooth  paths  between  the  shop  and  the  office ; 
and  representative  miners  waited  at  the  doors  of  superiors  and 
headmen.  Very  naturally  the  office  grew  too  busy  to  hear 
complaints,  and  doubtless  kept  many  waiting  with  burdens  that 
grew  into  wrongs  by  the  delay,  and  so  hastened  a  dreadful 
harvest. 

Employers  and  middle  men,  filled  with  the  tenderest  sym- 
pathy towards  their  workmen,  became  hardened  by  the  burdens 
of  their  position,  and  lost  both  confidence  and  patient  consider- 
ation. Workmen  fused  their  misfortunes,  their  sorrows  and 
wrongs,  into  a  white  heat  of  passion  and  hatred.  There  was 
good  and  evil,  right  and  wrong,  on  both  sides,  all  traceable  to 
the  fact  that  the  times  were  out  of  joint.  Society  was  so  lame 
that  it  could  not  travel  peacefully,  even  if  the  road  had  been 
smooth. 

If  we  consider  carefully  these  forces  so  long  at  work  among 
the  people,  and  the  conditions  of  business,  the  effects  of  specu- 
lation and  the  habits  of  life  among  all  classes ;  it  is  difficult 
to  conclude  that  the  restoration  of  peace  and  prosperous 
industry,  was  possible,  without  the  collision  and  trial  of 
strength  between  anarchy  and  law,  which  was  so  soon  to  star- 
tle the  nation. 

The  echoes  of  the  wakes  over  the  dead  assassins  taken  off 
by  legal  execution,  swept  around  the  shops  and  mines  in  Penn- 
sylvania only  to  deepen  the  distrust,  and  to  increase  the  fear 
of  the  people,  while  the  workmen  struggled  on  in  dogged 
silence.  The  superintendents  and  capitalists  began  to  augur 
peace,  and  gather  strength  to  push  their  heavy  tasks,  from  the 
quiet  indifference  gendered  by  despair  in  the  souls  of  the 
laborers,  and  the  people,  beginning  to  breathe  more  freely, 
were  gathering  together  in  social  confidence,  and  selecting 
places  of  their  sojourn  for  a  summer  vacation,  while  yet  the  air 
was  full  of  heaviness.     The  calm  that  precedes  the  storm  fell 


THE  WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  EMPLOYERS.  23 

on  the  coal  regions,  only  to  multiply  suspicion,  and  deepen 
apprehension. 

On  the  30th  of  June  1877,  rumors  of  suspensions  and  strikes 
increasing  and  flowing  into  one  huge  suspicion  of  a  "great 
strike?  which  should  compass  the  continent,  again  reach  the 
coal-fields.  "  The  Brotherhood  "  had  yet  given  no  palpable 
sign  ;  but  the  movement  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  in  unison, 
could  not  be  inaugurated  without  some  disturbance  of  either 
air  or  earth.  So  the  rumor  arose  and  fell ;  it  gathered  consis- 
tency as  a  cloud,  then  fell  into  fragments  and  disappeared  as  a 
mist,  leaving  thoughtful  watchers  in  doubt  whether  it  came 
from  the  great  field  of  railway  enterprise,  or  was  gendered  from 
their  own  fears  or  apprehensions. 

These  rumors  were  discussed  without  a  settled  conviction 
until  the  16th  day  of  July  1877;  when  without  a  single  warn- 
ing, the  trains  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  at  Martins- 
burgh,  W.  Va.,  were  stopped  with  a  shock  which  was  felt  from 
ocean  to  ocean,  and  the  great  battle  between  order  and  anarchy 
was  opened,  which  swept  like  a  tornado  over  the  whole  con- 
tinent. 


24  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    GREAT    RAILWAY    STRIKE  OF  JULY  16,  1877. 
Development,  Culmination  and  Legitimate  Fruits  of  the  Railway  Obstruction. 

IT  is  not  the  intention,  in  the  work  which  is  here  proposed, 
to  record  in  any  adequate  sense  the  history  of  the  great 
railway  strike  of  1877.  Its  vast  proportions — its  secret  and 
wonderfully  complete  organization — its  almost  instantaneous 
and  general  action,  and  its  manifest  influence  upon  the  vital 
interests  of  the  whole  country,  present  this  strike  as  a  subject 
entirely  unique  in  the  conduct  of  affairs.  It  could  not  be  pro- 
perly styled  a  rebellion  against  government ;  nor  did  it  propose 
a  revolution  in  the  conduct  and  control  of  public  affairs.  Yet 
in  its  presence  Government  was  not  visible,  and  before  its 
scathing  breath  society  fell  into  a  temporary  chaos.  The  sali- 
ent facts  which  this  strange  power  has  left  on  record,  present 
it  as  a  subject  worthy  of  the  deepest  consideration,  not  only 
by  the  historian  and  the  chronicler  of  events,  but  by  the  states- 
man and  patriot  as  well.  The  causes  which  pr6duced  it,  and 
the  condition  of  business  and  of  civil  society  which  rendered 
it  possible,  involve  both  the  character  and  forces  of  our  free 
government,  and  of  our  modern  civilization.  It  would  require 
a  patient  investigation  and  study  of  years,  such  as  few  men  are 
able  to  give,  in  order  to  present,  in  any  adequate  sense,  an 
intelligent  history  of  this  attempt  which  was  made,  almost  with- 
out premonition,  to  control  a  whole  continent  by  unlawful 
forces;  and  redress  the  supposed  or  real  wrongs  of  a  class  of 
workmen  by  the  obstruction  of  universal  business. 


THE  GREAT  RAILWAY   STRIKE.  25 

The  results  produced,  of  course,  were  far  beyond  the  pos- 
sible intentions  of  those  who  inaugurated  the  strike;  or  the 
wildest  expectations  of  those  who  accepted  its  responsibilities. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  community  or  even  a  family  in 
the  nation,  whose  interests  and  pursuits  and  even  character, 
remained  untouched,  when  a  whole  people  were  required  to 
stand  still  as  spectators,  and  adjust  themselves  to  new  condi- 
tions, while  great  corporations  and  their  employees  should 
adjust  their  differences.  It  would  hardly  be  possible,  after  ten 
years  have  passed,  to  write  a  satisfactory  detail  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  such  an  attempted  revolution  of  affairs,  which  was 
founded  upon  false  principles  and,  consequently,  doomed  to 
failure  by  the  eternal  fitness  of  things. 

Yet  the  influence  of  this  railway  strike  upon  the  whole 
country,  and  especially  upon  the  centres  of  population  and 
industry,  makes  some  intelligent  statement  of  its  progress 
necessary  in  order  to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  city's 
danger,  and  of  the  exigencies  out  of  which  sprang  the  organi- 
zation and  efficiency  of  the  city's  defense. 

The  peril  which  was  so  suddenly  manifested  in  the  young 
city  of  Scranton,  in  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
summer  of  1877,  and  which  seriously  threatened  its  vital  inter- 
ests as  a  community,  was  but  the  local  manifestation  of  a 
general  force  generated  over  the  whole  country  by  a  lawless 
spirit ;  which  intelligent,  and  not  ordinarily  vicious  men  had 
supposed  could  be  harnessed  like  a  beast  of  burden,  and  driven 
for  beneficent  ends.  The  history  of  this  city's  exposure  and 
of  its  organized  defense ;  when  its  best  young  men  rushed 
bravely  and  unflinchingly  to  the  rescue,  has  its  lessons,  which 
lose  none  of  their  force  from  the  fact  that  it  was  only  one  city 
out  of  many  which  passed  through  the  terrible  crisis.  Nor  is 
there  any  pretence  that  virtue  and  patriotism  or  efficient  wis- 
dom, were  to  be  found  here  alone,  in  the  day  of  terror  and 
trial.     While  it  is  the  intention  to  record  the  facts  of  this  cri- 


26  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

sis  as  they  existed  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  in  the  Wyom- 
ing and  Lackawanna  Valleys  especially,  and  preserve  the  his- 
tory of  the  military  organization  known  as  the  "  Scranton 
City  Guard,"  which  for  ten  years  has  been  the  city's  defense, 
the  fact  must  be  kept  in  view,  that  while  "  a  part  may  be  taken 
for  the  whole,"  it  is  not  separated  from  the  whole.  One  city's 
danger  differs  from  that  of  another,  chiefly,  in  this  great  free 
commonwealth,  only  in  the  accidents  which  mark  individual 
existence,  or  municipal  organization.  The  efficiency  and  wis- 
dom of  the  city's  defense,  in  general,  must  be  determined  by 
the  courage  and  patriotism  of  its  citizens,  and  the  honest  vir- 
tue of  its  municipal  authorities.  To  a  fair  understanding  and 
appreciation  of  the  record  which  is  here  proposed,  it  is  neces- 
sary, therefore,  to  present  a  general  view  of  the  development 
and  progress  of  the  great  strike, — which  within  three  days, 
sought  to  gather  the  nation  in  its  frantic  grasp,  and  had  the 
interests  of  the  whole  people  at  its  mercy. 

While  then  it  is  not  the  intention  to  record  the  history  of 
the  great  strike  of  1877,  yet  its  proportions,  its  wonderful  and 
complete  organization,  and  its  manifest  influence  upon  the 
whole  country,  make  some  intelligent  statement  of  its  pro- 
gress necessary,  in  order  to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  exi- 
gencies out  of  which  sprang  "  The  Scranton  City  Guard,"  the 
history  of  which  it  is  here  intended  to  give. 

History  presents  few,  if  any,  parallels  t6  the  rapidity,  effi- 
ciency or  great  proportions  with  which  a  lawless  force  was 
organized  in  the  midst  of  peaceful  society,  throughout  the 
United  States  in  June  and  July  of  1877.  Within  less  than  a 
week  from  the  first  act  of  violence,  the  business  of  fifty  millions 
of  people  was  interrupted,  their  interests  placed  in  jeopardy, 
and  society  itself  was  threatened  with  disorganization.  In  all 
the  recorded  convulsions  of  the  body  politic  or  of  civil  society, 
we  find  none  in  which  both  the  weakness  and  strength  of  a 
free  government  were  so  suddenly,  and  distinctly,  revealed. 


THE  GREAT  RAILWAY  STRIKE.  27 

One  week's  experience  awoke  the  whole  intelligent  people  of 
the  United  States  to  new  channels  of  thought  touching  the 
hidden  elements  of  force  lying  dormant  in  a  population  that  is 
made  up  of  all  races  of  men,  affected  by  the  traditions  of  all 
the  lands  from  which  they  have  come;  especially  when  en- 
dowed with  the  fullest  liberty  consistent  with  the  existence  of 
government. 

The  gulf  of  anarchy,  which  was  revealed  through  the  fissures 
of  society  by  the  sudden  glow  of  the  fires  of  human  passion, 
on  the  17th  of  July,  1877,  seemed  to  place  the  seal  of  truth 
upon  the  conclusions  of  the  statesmen  of  the  ancient  school. 
"A  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  peo- 
ple," seemed  to  be  a  "  Ship  of  State,"  with  abundant  sail,  but 
with  neither  ballast  nor  anchor.  But  the  potency  with  which 
the  driving  tempest  was  met,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
frightful  chaos  was  reduced  again  to  order  by  the  moral  and 
military  forces  of  an  intelligent  and  patriotic  people,  have  given 
to  the  world  a  new  confidence  in  the  real  power  of  a  govern- 
ment which  rests,  under  God,  upon  the  virtue  and  free  action 
of  its  own  citizens. 

Now,  after  ten  years  of  peace  and  commercial  prosperity, 
the  appalling  storm  which  passed  over,  seems  but  "  as  a  dream 
when  one  awaketh  ;  "  but  its  lessons  were  far  too  vital  to  be 
neglected  or  forgotten,  by  a  wise  people.  The  general  facts 
were  these : — 

Late  at  night  on  the  17th  of  July  one  of  the  vice-presidents 
of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railway  aroused  the  Governor  of 
West  Virginia  with  the  telegraphic  announcement,  from  the 
City  of  Baltimore,  that  the 'freight  trains  of  his  road  had 
been  stopped  at  Martinsburgh,  by  the  firemen  on  duty,  who 
had  struck  for  higher  wages.  That  those  willing  to  take 
their  places  had  been  dragged  from  the  engines,  and  that  all 
trains,  both  east  and  west,  were  held  by  a  mob,  while  the 
authorities  of  the  city  and  the    law  abiding  citizens,  were 


28  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

powerless  to  suppress  the  riot.  At  midnight  the  Governor 
responded  with  an  order  to  the  two  military  companies  under 
command  of  Colonel  Falkner  of  his  staff,  to  proceed  at  once  to 
the  aid  of  the  civil  authorities  at  Martinsburgh. 

About  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  same  day  Colonel 
Falkner  appeared  with  a  military  company  of  seventy-five  men  ; 
and  ordering  the  mob  to  disperse,  he   took  possession  of  a 
train  and  began  to  move  it  towards  its  destination.     This  led 
to  an  immediate  and  furious  attack  by  the  mob,  which  was 
armed  with  all  sorts  of  weapons,  from  a  paving-stone  to  a  mus- 
ket.    One  of  the   soldiers  was  wounded,  when   the  colonel 
ordered  the  guard  to  fire  upon  the  mob.     One  man  fell  and 
the    result  was   the  arousing  of  an  ungoverned  fury,  which 
quickly  led  to  repeated  and  desperate  charges  upon  the  small 
body  of  soldiers,  and  the  disabling  of  the  cars  ;   and  which  re- 
sulted in  giving  the  whole  city  over  into  the  power  of  the  mob. 
In  the  hands  of  these  strikers  were  seventy  trains,  having  in 
them  twelve  hundred  freight- cars.      Two-thirds  of  these  cars 
were  bound  east,  and  one-third  west,  loaded  with  all  kinds  of 
merchandise.      There  were  over  five  hundred  head  of  cattle 
on  one  of  these  trains.     Indeed,  all  the  property  of  the  road 
found  at  that  point,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  firemen  and  their 
friends,  when  the  morning  dawned.     Early  in  the  morning, 
Governor  Matthews,  with  a  guard  of  sixty  young  men,  has- 
tened to  the  scene  of  conflict.     He  arrived  at  eight  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  18th,  to  find  Colonel   Falkner's  company 
disbanded,  and  the  rioters  in  full  and  apparently  permanent 
possession,  of  both  the  town  and  the  road,  having  thrown  up 
entrenchments  on  both  sides  of  the  station.     Here  the  Gover- 
nor learned  that  the  road  had  been  closed  up  behind  him  also  ; 
and  that  rioters  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  had  taken  forty 
stands  of  arms  from  the  militia  in  that  city  ;  also  that  at  Cum- 
berland three  hundred  boatmen,  employed  on  the  Baltimore 
and    Ohio  Canal,  had  left  their  vessels  and  run  to  join  the 
strikers  on  the  railway. 


THE  GREAT   RAILWAY  STRIKE.  29 

I 
Thus,  in  less  than  twelve  hours  from  the  stopping  of  the 

first  train  at  Martinsburgh,  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  with 
its  Governor,  having  a  guard  of  sixty  men  housed  in  his  head- 
quarters in  a  train  that  could  not  move,  found  itself  helpless, 
with  nothing  more  than  the  semblance  of  its  authority.  Its 
laws  were  trodden  down  by  an  army  of  railway  operatives 
from  the  Potomac  to  the  Ohio.  These  strikers  destroyed 
the  property  of  the  Company,  broke  car  couplings,  and  dis- 
abled engines,  enough  to  prevent  any  running  of  trains,  and 
then  fortified  themselves  at  many  points.  They  then  sent  out 
their  scouts  and  prepared  for  a  siege.  This  was  all  accom- 
plished in  one  day. 

The  Governor,  from  his  military  headquarters,  with  strikers 
before  and  behind  him,  on  the  forenoon  of  the  18th,  appealed 
to  President  Hayes  for  United  States  troops  to  suppress  a 
"  domestic  insurrection,"  which  the  State  was  in  no  condition 
promptly  to  control.  The  President  responded  with  a  procla- 
mation ordering  the  Martinsburgh  rioters  to  disband  within 
twenty-four  hours,  or  before  noon  of  the  19th,  and  with  an 
order  to  General  French,  who  had  three  hundred  United 
States  troops  at  his  command  at  Fort  McHenry,  to  proceed  at 
once  to  Martinsburgh  and  all  other  points  on  the  line  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  where  his  command  might  be 
necessary,  to  suppress  lawlessness  and  disorder.  The  close 
of  the  day  found  these  troops  in  the  cars,  with  their  supplies 
and  ammunition,  ready  to  move  in  the  early  morning.  Mean- 
while all  the  State  militia  that  could  be  trusted,  were  ordered 
under  arms  and  moved  towards  the  line  of  this  great  artery 
of  commercial  life.  The  strikers  increased  their  numbers 
hourly,  all  along  the  road  from  Wheeling  and  Parkersburg  on 
the  Ohio,  to  the  Potomac,  until  their  forces  were  estimated  by 
the  thousand. 

During  the  night  of  the  18th  a  condition  of  ominous  ap- 
prehension was  felt  all  along  the  railway  system  of  the  coun- 


30  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

try.  Bloody  work  was  apprehended  in  the  State  of  West 
Virginia  on  the  morrow.  Yet  so  utterly  unprepared  was  the 
State  Government  for  such  an  exigency,  that  the  Governor 
gave,  as  a  reason  for  calling  at  once  upon  the  President  of  the 
United '  States  for  help,  the  facts  that  the  Legislature  of  West 
Virginia,  in  the  year  1875,  had  passed  a  law  forbidding  the 
organization  of  the  militia;  and  that  there  was  but  a  single 
volunteer  company  of  soldiers  at  his  service  that  could  be 
trusted.  Up  to  the  time  when  bloodshed  began,  the  mass  of 
citizens  seemed  to  sympathize  with  the  ^strikers,  and  multi- 
tudes from  all  the  business  walks  hastened  to  join  them.  On 
the  19th  of  July  the  strike  swept  over  the  whole  road,  and 
completed  its  stoppage  of  all  transportation  from  Baltimore  to 
Chicago.  At  Newark  and  Columbus,  Ohio,  the  trains  were 
stopped,  as  in  West  Virginia;  and,  before  noon,  the  officials  of 
the  road  called  upon  the  Governor  of  Ohio  for  troops  to  pro- 
tect their  property  and  repress  lawlessness. 

On  the  same  day  the  freight  trainmen  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  stopped  their  trains  at  Pittsburgh,  and  at  the  "  Cattle 
Yards "  at  East  Liberty ;  and  refused  to  allow  them  to  be 
taken  farther  East  or  West.  They  were  joined  by  the  other 
trainmen  as  fast  as  their  trains  arrived  at  these  points,  until 
hundreds  of  cars  filled  the  side-tracks ;  and  crowds  of  dis- 
charged workmen  gathered  about  the  station.  The  "  Brother- 
hood of  Locomotive  Engineers  "  met  in  the  evening  of  that 
day  in  Pittsburgh,  and  demanded  the  restoration  of  the  ten 
per  cent,  reduction  of  June  first ;  the  retention  of  all  strikers 
in  service,  and  the  abolition  of  all  double  trains ;  and  they 
refused  to  allow  any  trains  to  be  moved  until  these  demands 
were  met. 

At  the  stock  yards  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty  car- 
loads of  cattle  ready  for  shipment,  and  before  the  day  was 
over  one  hundred  carloads  more  were  to  arrive  from  the  west. 
So  sudden  had  been  this  strike,  and   so  little  apprehension 


THE  GREAT   RAILWAY   STRIKE.  31 

had  been  excited,  that  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  like  that  of 
West  Virginia,  seemed  to  be  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
strikers. 

The  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  John  F.  Hartranft,  whose 
military  record  is  a  part  of  the  glory  of  the  Commonwealth, 
had  gone  with  a  company  of  friends  upon  an  excursion  by 
special  train,  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  was  far  out  on  the 
plains,  when,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  19th  of  July,  the  telegram 
calling  for  military  aid,  to  suppress  the  mob  at  Pittsburgh,  ar- 
rested his  excursion.  At  12  o'clock  the  same  night,  in  answer 
to  the  call  of  the  sheriff  of  Allegheny  County,  the  18th  Regi- 
ment N.  G.  P.  was  ordered  out  at  Pittsburgh  by  the  Adjutant 
General  Latta,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the 
Governor,  who  had  reversed  his  train  at  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
was  hastening  home  under  great  difficulties. 

By  midnight  of  the  19th,  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  from 
Philadelphia  to  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  was  blockaded  with 
dead  engines,  which  were  in  the  possession  of  determined 
men.  Thousands  of  cars  loaded  with  all  manner  of  merchan- 
dise, perishable  and  imperishable,  were  stopped  where  the 
hour  fixed  for  the  strike  overtook  them.  Throughout  the 
States  of  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois  the  local 
civil  authorities,  finding  themselves  powerless  to  secure  order, 
or  maintain  the  majesty  of  the  law,  were  busy  gathering  the 
undrilled  militia  to  face  this  organized  force  of  lawless 
endeavor  and  demand. 

Before  noon,  on  the  20th  of  July,  the  strikers  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railway  were  joined  by  the  trainmen  of  both  the  Pan 
Handle  and  the  Pittsburgh  and  Fort  Wayne  Railways;  thus 
blockading  the  whole  outlet  from  Pittsburgh  to  the  west.  By 
one  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  20th,  the  immense  traffic 
and  travel  of  this  highway  of  the  nation,  whose  highways  are 
its  defense,  came  suddenly  to  an  end.  For  a  time  the  highest 
interests  of  society  seemed   to  be  at   the  mercy  of  self-ap- 


32  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

pointed  workmen,  who  proposed,  not  to  destroy  government, 
but  to  administer  its  functions  and  to  subordinate  law  to  their 
personal  demands.  At  Pittsburgh,  Altoona,  Harrisburg  and 
Philadelphia,  the  thousands  of  trainmen  were  joined  by  thou- 
sands more  of  that  nondescript  crowd  of  the  lawless  and 
worthless,  who  always  seem  ready  to  add  their  force  to  the 
resistance  to  law,  without  thought  or  care,  either  as  to  cause 
or  consequences. 

Having  nothing  to  lose,  the  scent  of  plunder  and  their 
communistic,  instincts,  led  them  to  hurry  to  the  localities 
where  property  had  been  wrested  from  the  hands  of  its 
owners.  Vast  multitudes  gathered  at  the  stations  and  filled 
the  streets  on  all  the  highways,  bidding  defiance  to  all 
authority. 

At  the  same  hour,  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  20th, 
the  trains  of  the  Erie  Railway  were  stopped,  and  the  strike 
extended  over  the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  and  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi,  thus  closing  the  middle  artery  of  life  in  the 
travel  and  traffic  of  the  country.  At  four  o'clock  p.m.  on  the 
19th,  the  superintendent  of  the  Erie  received  notice  of  the 
exigency,  and  of  demands  from  the  Brotherhood  at  Hornells- 
ville,  N.  Y. ;  and  immediately  set  forward  by  special  car  to 
prevent  the  execution  of  the  determination  of  the  strikers. 
He  was  suffered  to  pass  as  far  as  Salamanca,  where  his  loco- 
motive was  quietly  detached  from  his  car  and  placed  in  the 
engine  house  to  cool.  The  trains  were  stopped  at  Hornells- 
ville  and  Salamanca  as  fast  as  they  arrived,  and  these  places 
were  filled  with  travelers  who  found  no  conveyance. 

On  the  same  night  attempts  were  made  at  Buffalo  and  other 
places,  east  and  west  of  that  point,  to  involve  the  New  York 
Central  and  Lake  Shore  roads,  and  to  compel  the  employees 
of  this  last  great  thoroughfare  to  join  the  strikers.  Disturb- 
ances were  manifested  at  Albany,  at  Troy  and  at  Rochester, 
in  New  York,  at  Erie,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  at  all  important 


THE   GREAT   RAILWAY   STRIKE.  33 

points  westward  to  Chicago.  But  by  wise  management  and 
concessions,  which  the  exigencies  seemed  to  demand,  the 
authorities  of  this  great  highway  kept  their  employees  gene- 
rally in  position.  And  while  no  freight  was  allowed  to  pass 
Buffalo,  with  diminished  passenger  trains  and  military  protec- 
tion, the  Central  and  Lake  Shore  Roads  were  kept  generally 
open,  and  their  property  protected.  Thus  in  three  days  from 
the  first  revolt  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  at  Martinsburgh, 
three  out  of  the  four  great  routes  of  commerce  across  the 
continent  were  entirely  blockaded,  and  in  the  hands  of  men 
who  defied  the  civil  authority ;  while  the  fourth  and  only  re- 
maining highway,  was  interrupted  by  mobs  of  workmen  and 
their  sympathizers,  in  all  the  chief  cities  through  which  it 
passed,  and  it  was  kept  partially  open  chiefly  by  military  effic- 
iency. In  less  than  three  days  more,  this  violent  interruption 
to  trade  and  travel  had  swept  over  the  whole  continent.  And 
within  three  days  after  this  strike,  however  orderly  conducted, 
became  successful,  in  every  city  from  New  York  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, the  lawless  element  came  to  the  surface.  Scarcely  a 
single  railway  escaped  the  craze  of  the  engineers,  brakemen 
and  stokers,  who  demanded  the  redressing  of  real  or  imagin- 
ary wrongs,  and  the  mob  spirit  followed  their  movement  as 
effect  follows  efficient  cause. 

The  Governors  of  the  different  States  through  which  the 
strikes  extended  ordered  all  the  militia  composing  the  Na- 
tional Guard  of  their  respective  States  under  arms,  and  many 
of  them  appealed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  the 
help  of  national  troops.  The  greater  portion  of  the  Army  of 
the  United  States  was  at  that  juncture  busy,  under  command 
of  Major-General  Howard,  chasing  and  fighting  the  Indians 
of  Joseph's  and  Looking-Glass'  Bands,  at  that  time  in  revolt  in 
the  far  West.  The  balance  was  scattered  in  detachments, 
in  barracks  and  forts,  and  was  mostly  in  the  South  and  on  trie 
Western  coasts. 
3 


34  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

The  President  called  his  Cabinet  together,  discussed  the 
situation,  and  weighed  the  question  of  declaring  military  law 
in  some  of  the  States,  where  the  more  threatening  aspects  be- 
came apparent.  The  War  Department  of  the  National  Gov- 
ernment became  the  scene  of  great  energy  and  activity.  The 
scattered  regiments  were  gathered  towards  the  East,  as  one 
State  after  another  called  for  help.  In  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania there  seemed,  for  various  reasons,  the  greatest  need  for 
national  troops. 

Hurrying  across  the  Mississippi  Valley,  Governor  Hartranft 
issued,  by  telegraph,  his  proclamation  to  the  rioters  in  Penn- 
sylvania ;  and  at  the  same  time  his  orders  for  the  march  of  the 
National  Guard.  Just  one  day  after  the  great  strike  had  be- 
come general,  the  tread  of  soldiers  was  heard,  on  the  march 
towards  Cumberland,  towards  Pittsburgh,  Hornellsville,  Port 
Jervis  and  Buffalo. 

On  the  afternoon  of  July  20th,  the  Sixth  Maryland  Regi- 
ment began  its  march  from  Baltimore,  for  the  relief  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  at  Cumberland,  and  was  at- 
tacked by  the  mob  in  the  streets  of  that  city.  They  fired  upon 
this  mob  of  from  five  to  six  thousand  people,  killing  eight 
and  wounding  many  more,  and  thus  bloodshed  began.  On  the 
night  of  the  20th,  Philadelphia  troops,  about  a  thousand 
strong,  passed  over  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  to  Pittsburgh, 
where  the  demonstrations  of  the  rioters  appeared  to  be  the 
most  determined  and  dangerous.  The  condition  of  things 
there  was  aggravated  by  various  unexpected  causes,  which 
were  developed  after  the  strike  had  begun.  The  laborers 
from  the  mills  left  their  work,  and  joined  the  strikers  in  Janre 
numbers.  The  citizens  generally  sympathized  with  the  rail- 
way operatives,  in  their  contest  with,  and  demands  upon  the 
railway.  One  of  the  regiments  of  the  National  Guard,  re- 
cruited in  the  city,  when  Called  to  duty,  refused  to  aid  the 
civil  authority  in  suppressing  the  mob.    The  sheriff  and  police 


THE   GREAT   RAILWAY   STRIKE.  35 

manifested  and  expressed  their  inability  to  control  the  mob, 
and  their  views  of  the  unwisdom  of  attempting  to  disperse  the 
crowd. 

At  five  o'clock  on  Saturday  afternoon,  July  2 1st,  the  Phil- 
adelphia troops  arrived  at  Pittsburgh,  only  to  find  the  whole 
city  helpless  and  in  the  hands  of  the  'mob,  while  magistrates 
and  police  expressed  fears  of  making  any  attempt  to  enforce 
the  law.  To  this  time  good  nature  and  quiet  had  prevailed 
among  the  strikers,  as  no  serious  attempt  had  been  made  to 
reduce  them  to  order,  or  to  disperse  the  gathered  crowd.  The 
troops,  composed  of  parts  of  the  First,  Second  and  Third 
Regiments,  having  arrived  under  command  of  General  Robert 
M.  Brinton,  a  battalion  of  these  soldiers,  under  Colonel  Snow- 
den,  of  the  Third  Regiment,  was  moved  forward  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  road.  But  as  they  marched  under  orders  to 
clear  the  railway  tracks,  they  were  furiously  attacked  by  the 
mob,  and  opened  fire  in  self-defense.  The  crowd  dispersed 
only  to  return  armed  from  arsenals  and  gun  shops,  which  they 
had  rifled,  to  attack  the  guard  with  an  insane  fury.  Being  so 
greatly  outnumbered,  and  possibly  with  the  hope  of  avoiding 
further  bloodshed,  the  Colonel  ordered  the  militia  into  the 
Round  House  for  shelter  and  defense.  Here  they  maintained 
their  position  all  night  in  defiance  of  the  fiercest  assaults  the 
mob  could  make.  It  is  estimated  that  more  than  fifty  were 
killed  or  wounded  by  their  shots. 

All  that  night  the  crowd  exerted  its  blind  force  to  capture, 
drive  out,  or  destroy  the  brave  Battalion  which  fought  for  life. 
A  cannon  was  brought  to  be  fired  upon  the  Round  House 
with  the  expectation  that  its  walls  would  be  broken,  but  in 
vain.  The  deadly  aim  of  the  soldiers  picked  off  the  gunners, 
and  created  such  a  fear  that  the  gun  was  abandoned.  About 
one  o'clock  on  Sabbath  morning  a  train  laden  with  petroleum 
was  ignited,  and  pushed  as  near  to  the  Round  House  as  the 
track  would  permit,  with  the  hope  that  the  building  would  be 


36  A   CITVS   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

consumed,  and  the  soldiers  destroyed,  or  at  least  be  compelled 
to  flee  from  the  stifling  smoke.  But  the  wind  favored  the 
troops,  and  the  fire  spread  among  the  thousands  of  cars  laden 
with  merchandise. 

Now  the  work  of  fury  began.  The  wind,  sown  in  a  thought- 
less ill  nature  by  a  people  who  had  counted  it  a  virtue  to 
grumble  at  a  great  corporation,  had  suddenly  become  the 
whirlwind,  with  its  overwhelming  force  of  indiscriminate  de- 
struction. Men  with  sledge-hammers  and  axes  broke  down 
doors  to  cars  and  freight-houses,  and  mert,  women,  and  chil- 
dren began  the  work  of  pillage  and  theft.  The  torch  was  ap- 
plied to  the  property  of  the  road  with  desperate  recklessness ; 
while  the  fire  companies  of  the  city  were  compelled  to  stand 
by,  to  see  it  consumed,  without  an  attempt  to  stay  the  flames, 
unless  perchance  these  flames  should  touch  private  property. 

It  is  due  to  the  railway  men,  whose  grievance  had  insti- 
gated, and  whose  blind  fury  had  carried  forward  this  mob,  to 
record  the  fact  that  very  few,  if  any  of  them  were  seen  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  pillage.  If  any  railway  workers  were 
partakers  in  this  degrading  crime,  they  were  not  strikers,  but 
men  who  had  been  dismissed  before  the  strike  began. 

In  the  early  morning  of  the  22d,  cars  laden  with  coke  and 
saturated  with  coal  oil,  were  pushed  against  the  round  house, 
and  the  soldiers  were  compelled  to  retreat.  They  did  so  at 
the  cost  of  many  a  life.  They  were  followed  by  the  mob  out 
of  the  city ;  and  as  they  were  refused  admittance  into  any 
refuge,  they  saved  themselves  at  last  by  retreating,  in  good 
order  entirely  out  of  the  city,  where  they  bivouacked  among 
the  mountains  until  ordered  to  other  parts  of  the  State.  The 
story  (oft  repeated)  of  the  dispersing  of  the  Philadelphia 
troops  they  indignantly  deny.  They  retreated  to  the  suburbs 
and  there  bivouacked.  They  were  not  even  allowed  a  refuge 
in  the  United  States  barracks,  because  the  commander  of  the 
barracks  had  no  sufficient  force  to  protect  them,  as  the  officer 
in  command  supposed. 


THE  GREAT   RAILWAY  STRIKE.  37 

All  that  Sabbath  morning  the  work  of  pillage  and  fire  con- 
tinued. The  dead  and  wounded  lay  uncared  for  on  the  hill- 
sides, and  in  the  streets.  The  streets  of  the  city  were  filled 
with  the  vagrant  crowds  carrying  home  their  plunder.  Bar- 
rels of  flour,  and  bales  of  goods,  were  trundled  over  the  city 
by  both  men  and  women,  and  a  very  carnival  of  crime,  and 
vagrancy,  struck  the  people  with  terror.  At  noon  the  citizens 
met  and  sent  a  delegation  of  Priests,  Protestant  pastors,  and 
influential  citizens,  of  best  reputation  in  the  city,  to  attempt 
to  treat  with  the  mob.  But  only  to  find  that  mobs  make  no 
treaties,  and  indeed  are  incapable  of  it. 

The  riot  and  destruction  continued  until  past  the  middle  of 
the  day  without  hindrance  from  any  constituted  civil  authori- 
ties. Then  the  city  aroused  itself  to  the  demands  of  the  hour, 
and  began  to  see  the  necessity,  at  any  cost,  for  the  reign  of 
authority  and  law.  A  vigilant  force,  was  organized  by  a  few 
brave  men,  armed  with  ball  bats,  who  took  the  field.  As 
soon  as  this  brave  band  of  citizens  appeared  with  its  frown  of 
honest  determination,  hundreds  gathered  to  its  help.  With 
its  simple  uniform,  a  white  ribbon  tied  upon  the  arm,  this 
band  speedily  became  a  power  before  which  the  mob  began  to 
quail,  and  then  to  scatter.  The  more  respectable  soon  came 
to  the  side  of  law  and  order. 

The  base-ball  bats,  with  which  these  brave  men  first  ap- 
peared on  the  scene  of  death,  pillage,  and  fire,  were  soon 
exchanged  for  trusty  guns,  and  the  triumph  of  law  was 
speedily  secured.  A  line  of  limitation  was  drawn  about  the 
conflagration,  the  fire  companies  were  set  to  work,  and  the  mob 
slowly  dispersed  without  further  violence.  The  closing  hours 
of  that  dreadful  Sabbath,  in  Pittsburgh,  witnessed  the  subsid- 
ence of  the  tempest  of  wicked  fury.  No  further  attempt  seems 
to  have  been  made  to  rally  the  mob,  or  destroy  property ;  but 
through  the  wakeful  hours  of  the  succeeding  night  the  citizens 
had  time  to  meditate  upon  their  fair  city's  danger,  and  dishonor. 


38  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

The  ashes  of  two  thousand  cars  with  their  freight  of  rich 
merchandise,  the  ruined  locomotives  of  all  these  trains,  the 
miles  of  buildings  and  sheds,  belonging  to  the  railway,  con- 
sumed, and  the  wreck  and  ruin  which  covered  the  tracks  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railway,  from  the  Union  Station  to  the 
Cattle  Pens  of  East  Liberty ;  combined  with  the  awful  specta- 
cle of  dead  and  mutilated  men,  women,  and  children,  on  the 
streets  of  one  of  the  best  cities  of  the  land,  remained  to  teach 
the  people  what  it  is  to  trifle  with  a  lawless  spirit ;  or  for  any 
grievance  to  suffer  the  supremacy  of  the  law,  even  for  a  day, 
to  be  set  aside.  More  than  seven  millions  of  property  be- 
longing to  the  railroad  were  destroyed  in  about  twelve  hours 
of  riot,  according  to  the  estimate  upon  which  payment  was 
demanded  from  the  city.  The  number  of  lives  destroyed,  or 
of  people  maimed,  no  man  knows. 

Through  the  following  night,  and  for  days  and  nights  after- 
wards, the  citizens  kept  the  city  with  sleepless  vigilance,  until 
a  sufficient  number  of  trusty  soldiers  could  be  marched  to 
their  relief,  and  the  organized  strikers  could  be  induced,  or 
compelled,  to  surrender  their  stolen  arms.  The  civil  processes 
of  the  government  then  brought  the  people  back  under  the 
power  of  order  and  law. 

The  day  following  this  wretched  disorder  at  Pittsburgh, 
attempts  were  made  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  at  Altoona,  at  Har- 
risburg,  and  at  Philadelphia  in  Pennsylvania,  to  inaugurate 
the  same  horror  of  irresponsible  violence.  But  the  troops 
gathered,  and  the  brave  fidelity  of  the  local  police,  dispersed 
the  mobs  and  placed  their  leaders  in  duress,  with  insignificant 
loss  of  life  and  property.  This  was  specially  true  of  the  city 
of  Philadelphia.  Its  faithful  and  efficient  mayor,  with  his 
magnificently  brave  police,  met  the  exigency  with  heroic 
vigor.  Philadelphia  had  the  best  troops  in  the  State;  but 
her  regiments  had  all  been  sent  to  other  parts  of  the  com- 
monwealth.    But  the  police  force,  without  hesitancy,  pressed 


THE   GREAT   RAILWAY  STRIKE.  39 

upon  the  vast  crowds,  armed  with  clubs  and  revolvers,  and 
arrested  all  dangerous  or  boisterous  men  without  hesitancy. 
Thus  the  mob  was  kept  under  constant  control  until  all  dan- 
ger passed  away. 

On  the  23rd  of  July,  Governor  Hartranft  appealed  to 
President  Hayes  for  the  help  of  United  States  troops,  to 
enable  him  to  suppress  violence  throughout  the  various  cities 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  through  which  the 
railways  pass,  in  which  the  civil  authorities  were  not  able  to 
exercise  sufficient  control.  The  President  promptly  responded 
with  a  public  proclamation,  and  hurried  the  scattered  regi- 
ments, and  fragments  of  regiments,  that  had  been  on  post 
duty  in  all  parts  of  the  national  domain,  into  the  State  at 
Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh. 

On  the  same  day,  a  portion  of  the  National  Guard  was 
marched  to  Reading  to  protect  the  city  and  the  railway 
property.  The  soldiers  were  but  poorly  trained,  and  seem  to 
have  been  worse  handled.  They  were  marched  into  a  deep 
railroad  cut,  where  they  could  do  little  to  protect  themselves. 
They  were  attacked  by  the  mob  on  both  sides  in  a  furious 
onset,  in  which  thirty  lives  were  lost;  and  the  whole  city  was 
smitten  with  terror.  For  a  time  this  fair  city  was  at  the 
mercy  of  lawless  men;  and  until  reliable  troops  could  be  fur- 
nished, civil  process  was  not  attempted.  The  strike,  however 
orderly,  had  no  power  to  control  the  mob  spirit.  Indeed,  the 
rise  of  the  spirit  of  violence,  as  a  direct  result  of  the  great 
strike,  was  manifest  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  It 
swept  over  the  whole  lines  of  travel  like  a  wave  impelled  by 
some  unseen  and  undiscoverable  force.  This  fury  of  passion, 
and  spirit  of  murder,  followed  the  success  of  the  strikers,  in 
almost  every  place,  in  about  the  same  number  of  hours  after 
the  demands  of  the  civil  authority  had  been  successfully 
resisted.  Where  no  resistance,  or  military  force,  became 
apparent,  the  signs  of  failure  or  of  the  weakening  of  the  strike 


40  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

seemed  to  be  the  signal  to  that  multitude,  who  had  neither 
grievance  to  redress  nor  anything  to  lose,  to  come  to  the 
front,  and  fan  the  flames  of  violence. 

While  the  incendiary  fires  were  still  burning  in  Pittsburgh, 
the  same  spirit  which  applied  the  torch  and  sacked  the  houses 
of  traffic  there,  appeared  in  almost  every  city,  and  at  every 
station,  where  the  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Employees  had 
succeeded  in  inaugurating  their  strike.  In  Baltimore,  Phila- 
delphia, New  York,  San  Francisco,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  In- 
dianapolis, Cincinnati,  Columbus,  Cleveland  and  Buffalo  the 
communistic  element  of  the  population  came  to  the  surface. 

In  Harrisburg,  a  crowd  of  noisy  rioters  appeared  in  the 
streets,  the  great  body  of  whom  seemed  to  be  entire  strangers 
in  the  city,  and  made  night  hideous  with  their  noisy  threaten- 
ings  of  fire  and  plunder.  But  the  sheriff  of  Dauphin  County 
was  a  man  of  nerve  and  resources.  He  was  an  excellent 
soldier  and  a  conscientious  executive  officer.  He  quietly 
enlisted  and  armed  a  thousand,  or  more,  of  the  best  citizens, 
and  had  them  prepared  to  rally  to  his  help  at  a  given  signal. 
At  midnight  the  fire-signals  were  sounded,  and  five  hundred 
of  these  citizens  appeared  armed  on  the  streets  under  orders 
of  Col.  W.  W.  Jennings,  the  faithful  sheriff,  and  they  dispersed 
this  mob  without  firing  a  shot. 

An  immense  crowd  then  gathered  about  the  railway  station, 
that  seemed  to  have  no  special  connection  with  the  railway 
employees.  About  midnight  an  armed  body  of  these  men 
took  possession  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  office,  but 
were  soon  driven  out  by  the  sheriff,  who  appeared  with  a 
posse  of  a  thousand  citizens  to  reinstate  the  operators.  This 
movement  of  the  citizens  seems  to  have  made  a  profound  im- 
pression upon  the  lawless  elements,  and  secured  safety  to  the 
city,  and  the  railway  property,  until  all  danger  was  passed. 

The  same  night  about  six  hundred  of  the  armed  strikers 
left  the  city  to  intercept  a  company  of  the  Philadelphia  militia, 


THE  GREAT  RAILWAY  STRIKE.  41 

on  its  way  from  Altoona,  and  they  succeeded  in  capturing  a 
portion  of  them ;  but  the  balance  marched  around  the  city. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  most  of  the  towns  and  cities 
where  for  three  days  the  strikers  had  held  the  roads  with 
what  they  published  as,  and  doubtless  was  intended  to  be,  an 
orderly  strike.  It  certainly  demonstrated  that  such  a  thing  as 
an  orderly  strike  is  impossible.  This  is  but  a  contradiction  of 
terms  by  which  no  wise  man  can  be  deceived. 

The  brotherhood,  which  inaugurated  the  great  strike,  dis- 
claimed any  intention  to  injure  or  destroy  property.  They 
proposed  only  to  stop  the  movement  of  business  in  an  illegal 
way,  and  in  spite  of  legal  authority,  until  their  grievances  were 
redressed.  In  the  beginning  they  had,  or  seemed  to  have,  the 
honest  sympathy  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  in  almost  all 
places.  On  one  of  the  roads,  at  least,  the  trains  were  regularly 
run  on  schedule  time  by  the  strikers  themselves,  and  were 
fully  patronized,  and  everything  was  surrendered  in  good 
order  when  the  strike  ended.  Doubtless  they  were  as  much 
surprised  as  were  the  public  authorities  when  the  spirit  of 
lawlessness  was  fully  aroused,  and  became  manifest.  The  pro- 
portions and  success  of  their  strike  had,  in  three  days,  pro- 
duced their  legitimate  fruits,  in  the  insecurity  of  property  and 
then  of  life,  which  at  once  threatened  to  reduce  society  to 
chaos.  These  legitimate  fruits  were  quickly  discerned  by  the 
better  class  of  the  strikers  themselves.  In  many  places  the 
strikers  tendered  their  services  to  the  railway,  or  even  to  the 
civil  authorities,  for  the  protection  of  property,  and  the  con- 
trol of  all  outbreakings  of  violence.  In  others  they  placed 
guards  of  their  own,  and  they  expelled  with  promptness  from 
their  crowd  those  who  were  heard  to  advocate  fire  and  pillage. 
Yet  it  was  quickly  demonstrated,  in  almost  every  centre  of 
their  activity,  that  these  strikers,  with  the  best  intentions,  but 
with  their  unlawful  modes  of  action,  had  generated  forces 
which  they  had  no  ability  to  check,  direct,  or  control.     A 


42  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

child,  or  even  a  burrowing  crawfish,  may  let  the  pent-up  waters 
through  the  dyke;  but  who  shall  stop  the  floods,  or  place 
limits  to  the  destruction  which  must  follow? 

By  the  24th  of  July  this  organized  force,  which  was  set  in 
array  against  law  and  order  to  correct  the  wrongs  of  a  worthy 
class  of  citizens,  and  intelligent  workmen,  was  followed  by  the 
communistic  frenzy  which  its  own  acts  drew  forth  from  the 
depths  of  society.  And  in  three  days  that  frenzy  had  swept 
over  almost  every  railway  of  the  Commonwealth.  Like  some 
azotic  gas,  this  lawless  spirit  settled  down  upon  the  towns, 
cities,  and  communities.  It  put  out  the  fires  of  industry,  and 
smote  with  a  deadly  paralysis  the  business  and  trade  of  the 
people.  Shut  within  homes  of  strange  fear  and  apprehension, 
the  great  body  of  the  law-abiding  citizens  waited  in  apparent 
helplessness  the  issue  of  this  business  convulsion.  Thought- 
ful people  stood  perplexed  or  aghast,  before  the  proportions 
of  the  great  strike,  and  the  multitude  pursued,  with  silent 
thoughtfulness,  their  daily  tasks  with  such  helps  as  they  could 
secure,  all  the  while  wondering  whereunto  this  matter  would 
grow.  Too  often  this  multitude  vainly  concluded  that  the  path 
of  safety  and  right  must  lie  somewhere  between  the  great 
corporations  and  their  employees,  who  stood  in  open  revolt 
against  liberty  and  law,  as  fully  as  against  the  oppressions  of 
the  hireling  in  the  matter  of  his  wages ;  instead  of  upon  that 
path  of  moral  rectitude,  and  regulated  liberty,  which  leads  the 
weakest,  as  well  as  the  strongest,  into  the  refuge  of  justice  and 
law  ;   the  only  impregnable  citadel  of  society  and  government. 


THE   SIROCCO  AND   THE   SIMOON.  43 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  SIROCCO  AND  THE  SIMOON. 

The  Strike  in  the  Anthracite  Coal-fields  of  Pennsylvania — The  City's  Exposure  and 
Danger — "They  cry  Peace!  Peace!  when  there  is  no  Peace" — They  Seek 
their  Rights,  by  the  way  of  Wrong. 

THE  great  strike  seemed  to  loiter  on  its  way  to  the  anthra- 
cite coal-fields  of  Pennsylvania.  The  railways  centering 
in  the  Lackawanna  and  Wyoming  Valleys  were  among  the 
last  in  the  State  to  be  interrupted.  The  causes  for  this  delay 
may  have  been  various.  They  are  difficult  to  trace.  It  may 
have  been  because  of  the  sad  experiences  of  the  miners'  strikes 
of  1870  and  1 87 1,  from  which  the  business  interests  had  very 
slowly  and  imperfectly  recovered.  It  may  have  arisen  from 
the  visible  relations  and  mutual  dependence  of  all  the  great 
fields  of  labor  and  enterprise  in  this  region.  Or  the  postpone- 
ment of  this  crisis  may  have  been  caused  by  the  very  great 
mixture  of  races,  and  the  prejudices  of  the  population.  Ex- 
perience had  demonstrated  the  danger  of  arousing  the  pas- 
sions of  that  ignorant  and  wicked  class,  who  were  known  to 
infest  the  coal-fields,  who  are  without  homes  or  social  ties,  and 
who  always  seem  to  be  able  to  live  without  work ;  while  they 
complain  perpetually  of  their  inability  to  live  with  it.  The 
hesitancy  and  delay  in  participating  in  the  strike  may  have  had 
its  cause  in  the  historic  fact,  that  the  three  great  roads  which 
controlled  the  transportation  through  the  valley  had  always 
shown  a  disposition  to  deal  justly  with  their  employees.  The 
managers,  and  superintendents  of  these  railways  were  generally 


44  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

men  who  had  prepared  themselves  for  their  places  of  trust  by 
a  practical  education,  in  which  they  had  passed  through  all 
the  lower  positions.  Hence  they  were  both  able  and  disposed 
to  appreciate,  both  the  duties  and  the  trials  of  the  employees 
in  all  departments.  Engineers  and  brakemen  knew  they  were 
appreciated,  and  had  faith  in  the  men  over  them  generally. 
The  conduct  of  these  men,  after  the  strike  was  consummated, 
demonstrated  that  it  was  the  demand  of  the  Brotherhood,  rather 
than  any  special  grievance  or  wrong  which  stopped  them.  It 
may  have  been  any,  or  all  of  these  facts  and  convictions  that 
worked  the  delay,  on  the  part  of  the  orderly  and  industrious 
trainmen,  on  the  roads  centering  in  Scranton.  It  may  have 
been  the  lack  of  any  real  grievance  against  the  roads  they 
served,  which  made  them  hesitate  to  join  their  brethren  in  the 
attempt  to  compel  the  corporations,  all  over  the  country,  to  re- 
move the  grievances  under  which  their  employees  suffered. 
But  it  was  after  the  traffic  on  almost  all  the  other  highways  of 
the  State  had  been  interrupted,  and  the  citizens  at  home  had 
enjoyed  their  laugh  at  the  expense  of  their  unlucky  brethren, 
who  had  been  set  down  in  strange  places  where  no  thorough- 
fare could  be  found,  that  the  rumors  of  the  strike  in  their  own 
midst  began  to  grow  definite  and  ominous. 

Strange  faces  began  to  appear  about  the  shops  and  in  the 
streets  of  Scranton.  The  mines  with  their  breakers,  and  the 
mills  with  their  busy  hammers  were  in  full  operation.  Yet 
the  streets  were  filled  with  a  people  who  seemed  to  wander 
about  with  aimless  purpose.  After  the  strike  upon  the  Erie 
Railway  to  the  north  had  closed  that  highway,  the  shipment 
of  trains  over  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  and  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  Railways  increased ;  and  omens  of 
prosperity  were  not  lacking  for  four  or  five  days  after  the  tem- 
porary success  of  the  strike  had  been  secured  all  over  the 
State.  But  at  noon  of  July  24th,  the  employees  of  the 
Lackawanna  Iron  &    Coal    Company,  having  no  connection 


THE   SIROCCO  AND    THE   SIMOON.  45 

with  the  railways,  without  premonition  or  complaint,  left  the 
rolling-mill  with  a  cheer,  as  the  gong  sounded  for  the  noon 
hour,  and  marched  in  a  body  to  the  other  mills  of  the  com- 
pany, where  they  were  joined  by  the  workmen.  From  thence 
they  proceeded  to  the  machine  shops  of  the  Delaware,  Lacka- 
wanna &  Western  Railway.  Here  they  gathered  the  work- 
men in  an  orderly  way.  Mr.  W.  W.  Scranton,  the  manager 
of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  having  learned  of 
this  movement,  followed  the  workmen  immediately  and  asked 
for  an  explanation  of  their  conduct.  They  answered  simply 
that  they  could  not  work  for  the  wages  they  were    receiving. 

There  were  about  a  thousand  of  t1ie  employees  of  the  Lacka- 
wanna Iron  &  Coal  Company  who  left  the  works.  After  they 
had  been  accosted  by  the  manager,  and  kindly  informed  that 
the  company  fully  sympathized  with  the  workmen,  and  regret- 
ted the  state  of  business,  which  compelled  the  reduction  of 
wages,  but  that  he  could  give  them  no  encouragement  to  hope 
for  an  increase  at  present,  they  quietly  dispersed  in  small 
bands,  and  spent  the  afternoon  walking  about  the  city  in  an 
orderly  way. 

On  the  23d  the  trainmen  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  & 
Western  Railway,  and  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Com- 
pany, presented  to  Superintendents  Hallstead  and  Manville  a 
series  of  resolutions,  in  which  they  demanded  a  restoration  of 
the  ten  per  cent,  reduction  to  which  they  had  been  subjected 
with  the  employees  of  the  other  roads.  The  superintendents 
promised  an  answer  as  soon  as  the  papers  could  be  forwarded 
to  the  headquarters  in  New  York  and  answer  returned.  The 
answer  came  on  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  and  was  a  distinct 
refusal,  which  was  announced  to  the  Committee  of  the  Broth- 
erhood, then  in  secret  session  in  Scranton. 

At  six  o'clock  P.  m.,  of  the  next  day  (July  24th),  the  fire- 
men of  these  roads  struck,  in  an  orderly  way,  which  indicated 
a  careful  preparation.     There  was  manifest  no  excitement  nor 


46  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

anger.  The  locomotives  were  all  taken  to  the  yards,  their  fires 
carefully  drawn,  and  left  in  their  proper  places.  Coal  trains 
were  left  in  good  order  on  the  tracks  in  the  yard.  One 
train  which  had  left  on  its  regular  time,  which  was  prior  to 
the  hour  agreed  upon  for  the  strike,  when  six  o'clock  arrived, 
had  its  engine  reversed  and  was  quietly  returned  to  the 
yard.  In  less  than  an  hour  the  whole  work  was  done,  the 
strike  was  consummated  without  friction,  and  the  trainmen 
retired  to  their  homes  with  quiet  dignity.  The  busiest  place 
in  the  city  was  thus  left,  in  a  single  afternoon,  to  a  painful 
silence. 

At  the  same  hour,  and  in  the  same  orderly  manner,  the 
trainmen  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Company  left  their  work. 
Thus  all  the  wheels  of  freight  and  coal  trains  ceased  to  roll,  as 
soon  as  they  could  be  placed  on  switches  or  in  the  yards  in 
safety.  It  became  immediately  evident  that  the  men  on  these 
roads  had  acted  in  concert,  and  were  involved  with  the  strange 
power  of  the  secret  Brotherhood,  whose  efficiency  had  mani- 
fested itself  all  over  the  country.  This  was  asserted  in  the 
Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  Valleys,  as  on  other  roads,  to  be  a 
strike  of  the  firemen  of  freight  trains  alone.  But  it  very  soon 
involved  all  who  were  employed  in  the  running  of  trains, 
whether  passenger  or  freight. 

The  excitement  spread  rapidly  over  the  city,  and  painful 
apprehension  took  hold  of  the  whole  people. 

The  papers  on  the  day  on  which  the  strike  was  begun  in 
Scranton  were  full  of  the  details  of  the  bloody  scenes,  enacted 
at  Pittsburgh,  Altoona,  Reading  and  Harrisburg.  The  day 
before  this  all  the  troops,  that  belonged  to  the  city  and  its 
vicinity,  had  left  under  orders  of  General  Osborne,  to  be  used 
at  different  points  in  the  State,  to  preserve  order,  and  could 
not  be  returned  by  rail,  thus  leaving  the  city  without  any  mili- 
tary force.  A  great  many  families  were  troubled  because 
their  members    were  out  of  the  city ;    many  of  them    only 


THE   SIROCCO  AND   THE  SIMOON.  47 

gone  for  a  day,  under  claims  of  business,  but  with  little  pros- 
pect now  of  being  able  to  reach  their  homes. 

But  what  was  far  worse,  the  whole  business  community 
knew,  that  this  strike  of  railway  men  necessarily  involved  a 
cessation  of  mining;  if  not  an  entire  suspension  of  the  mills, 
and  manufactures  of  all  sorts  ;  and  most  probably  would  deter- 
mine, or  precipitate,  a  strike  in  all  the  industries  of  the  valley. 
However  orderly  the  trainmen  might  be,  however  quietly 
they  might  conduct  themselves;  or  however  narrow  and 
specific  the  demands  they  might  make ;  every  one  acquainted 
with  the  relation  of  industries  in  the  coal  fields,  and  with 
the  want  of  confidence  then  existing,  knew  that  there  was 
vastly  more  involved  in  the  "  orderly  strike,"  as  it  was  called, 
than  could  be  hidden  in  any  question  of  wages  for  firemen 
and  engineers. 

If  the  coal  trains  shall  cease  to  carry  the  coal  to  market, 
the  mining  of  coal  must  cease;  for  a  very  limited  amount  can 
be  held  at  the  mouth  of  the  mines  at  any  time;  and  the  vast 
capital  involved  demands  ceaseless  activity,  if  workmen  are  to 
receive  their  wages.  Beyond  this  mystery  of  combination, 
which  showed  itself  powerful  enough  to  be  able  to  move  with 
a  certain  dignity  and  careful  quietness  of  method,  towards 
questionable  if  not  unlawful  ends,  the  people  of  Scranton  saw 
a  whole  army  of  at  least  30,000  miners,  laborers,  iron  workers, 
and  teamsters,  whose  industries  must  become  immediately  in- 
volved and  whose  work  must  stop. 

Apprehension  like  a  dense  cloud  settled  in  an  hour  over 
the  whole  community,  when  the  fact  of  the  railway  strike  be- 
came known. 

This  cloud  was  slightly  lifted  when  late  at  night  it  was 
learned  that  the  passenger  trains  due  were  allowed  to  go  on 
to  their  destination,  and  that  the  strikers  had  abandoned  no 
train  by  the  way. 

Along  the  streets  men  began  to  speculate  upon  the  prospec- 


48  A   CITY'S   DANGER   AND   DEFENSE. 

tive  effects  and  uses  of  the  strike.  They  said  the  suspension 
of  the  shipment  of  coal  must,  as  a  natural  consequence,  stop 
the  work  at  the  mines,  and  of  course  this  will  force  the  price 
of  coal  upward  by  the  law  of  demand  and  supply  ;  then  suffi- 
cient wages  can  be  paid.  So  the  people  whose  interests  were 
so  deeply  and  suddenly  involved,  without  their  knowledge, 
turned  to  the  logic  of  strikes  for  comfort. 

Meanwhile  the  strikers  and  mill-hands,  alike,  gathered  at 
their  places  of  council.  In  the  afternoon,  about  the  time  the 
answer  to  the  firemen's  demand  arrived  -from  New  York,  the 
miners  of  the  D.  L.  and  W.  Railway  gathered  in  Fellows  Hall, 
in  Hyde  Park,  to  discuss  the  situation  and  prospects.  They 
showed  their  real  apprehensions  by  pledging  themselves  to 
stand  for  law  and  order  whatever  might  be  the  issue. 

In  the  evening  the  strikers  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  &  Coal 
Compan)'-,  who  had  left  their  work  at  noon,  met  in  secret  ses- 
sion at  the  Father  Matthew  Hall,  in  the  city,  and,  although 
they  admitted  no  outsiders,  they  were  careful  to  have  it  under- 
stood that  their  speakers,  who  discussed  their  grievances, 
were  all  in  favor  of  maintaining  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the 
city  in  every  emergency. 

The  railway  men  quietly  retired  to  their  homes  leaving  their 
cause  in  the  hands  of  their  council,  or  committee,  of  the 
Brotherhood,  which  held  its  session  in  Washington  Hall.  So 
the  night  of  the  24th  of  July  wore  away  in  gloom  and  appre- 
hension. A  large  number  of  the  families  of  property-holders, 
merchants,  and  professional  men  were  separated.  Members  of 
these  families  were  absent  on  business,  or  scattered  about  the 
sea  shore  and  through  the  wilderness,  for  the  enjoyment  of 
vacation,  and  with  the  sudden  stoppage  of  trains,  they  seemed 
so  far  away ;  while  the  possibilities  of  lawlessness  and  wicked 
violence  overshadowed  the  homes  that  were  absolutely  with- 
out defense.  The  Mayor,  with  his  eleven  policemen  and  a 
few  constables,  constituted  the  whole  force  appointed  to  watch 


THE   SIROCCO  AND   THE   SIMOON.  49 

over  the  lives  and  property  in  the  city  of   nearly  40,000  in- 
habitants. 

The  municipal  government  of  the  city  of  Scranton  was,  per- 
haps, at  this  time,  on  a  fair  average  with  that  of  cities  all  over 
the  country.  It  enjoyed  about  as  much  of  the  confidence  of 
the  mass  of  the  people  as  institutions  subject  to  mere  party 
contest,  and  party  administration,  where  the  chief  party  issues 
are  the  spoils  of  office,  are  likely  to  possess.  But  the  great 
mixture  of  the  population  in  its  variety  of  races  forming  the 
community,  whose  lines  of  separation  had  been  made  sharper 
by  the  dreadful  experiences  of  the  years  when  the  villany  of 
the  Molly  Maguire  association  had  worked  without  rebuke; 
had  fostered  a  want  of  confidence  in  all  departments  of  muni- 
cipal administration,  and  had  greatly  weakened  judicial  au- 
thority. 

Offices  were  filled  by  men  who,  however  virtuous  or  able, 
had  been  placed  in  nomination  by  party  machinery,  and  elected 
by  a  compromise,  or  division  of  races,  in  which  the  question 
of  availability  was  far  more  important  than  that  of  fitness  or 
ability.  The  history  of  the  city  had  demonstrated,  in  the 
strikes  and  disturbances  of  the  past,  that  the  safety  of  the 
people  had  been  secured  by  the  orderly  spirit  of  the  mass  of 
citizens,  rather  than  by  the  efficiency  of  public  officers.  But 
when  this  strike  began,  whatever  might  have  been  the  confi- 
dence of  the  citizen  in  his  municipal  officials,  there  was  neither 
man  nor  woman  of  the  city  who  did  not  know  that  these 
officials  were  powerless  before  such  forces  of  passion  as  were 
daily  gathered  in  the  streets. 

At  the  dawn  of  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  July  the  Mayor 
issued  an  address  to  the  citizens,  important  for  its  timeliness 
and  wisdom,  which  doubtless  did  much  towards  restoring 
confidence  to  the  community,  and  securing  careful  action 
on  the  part  of  the  strikers.  His  address  reminded  the  whole 
people,  in  words  at  which  they  could  take  no  offense,  of  the 
4 


50  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

dangers,  and  measureless  disasters,  to  which  the  city  was  ex- 
posed, and  called  upon  all  citizens  to  conduct  themselves  with 
calm  thoughtfulness ;  and  use  their  best  endeavors  for  the 
maintenance  of  law  and  order.  This  caution  was  published 
none  too  soon ;  for  while  the  Mayor's  address  was  being  read 
by  the  citizens  at  their  homes  in  the  morning,  crowds  of  ex- 
cited men  gathered  at  different  points  in  the  city.  It  was 
learned  that  the  strike,  which  had  begun  at  noon  the  day  be- 
fore, was  extending  with  great  rapidity  and  uniformity 
throughout  both  the  city  and  the  valley,  and  was  gathering  to 
its  measures  all  kinds  of  artizans. 

A  large  and  excited  crowd  gathered  at  the  railway  station, 
which/  fronted  on  Lackawanna  Avenue,  about  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  All  seemed  to  be  impressed  with  the  conviction 
that  something  extraordinary  was  about  to  happen.  It  was 
rumored  that  the  mail  train  from  the  north,  which  was  due  at 
9.50  a.  m.,  had  a  large  number  of  passengers,  and  was  plough- 
ing through  great  excitement  and  demonstrations  of  violence. 
At  Great  Bend  a  crowd  had  greeted  the  train  with  shouts,  and 
an  attempt  had  been  made  to  detach  the  passenger  cars, 
which  the  engineer  frustrated  by  rapid  movement.  But  no 
farther  serious  difficulty  was  met  until  the  train  had  turned 
the  curve  just  below  the  Gap,  near  the  Diamond  Mine  above 
Scranton,  when  it  was  flagged  by  a  committee  of  the  strikers 
who  announced  their  determination  to  take  off  the  passenger 
cars,  allowing  only  the  mail  car  to  proceed.  As  soon  as  the 
train  stopped  at  Hyde  Park  station,  a  large  crowd  surrounded 
it  and  watched  while  the  passenger  cars,  filled  with  travelers, 
were  detached  and  left  standing  on  the  track,  while  the  engine, 
with  the  express  and  mail  cars,  was  suffered  to  come  on  to 
the  Scranton  station. 

As  soon  as  this  fragment  of  the  train  arrived,  the  platform 
of  the  station  became  crowded  with  a  surging  mass  of  excited 
men.     A  large  number  applied  for  tickets  for  New  York,  but 


THE  SIROCCO   AND   THE   SIMOON.  51 

were  quietly  refused  by  the  ticket  agent,  Mr.  W.  H.  Fuller, 
who  had  learned  the  intention  of  the  strikers  to  allow  no 
passenger  trains  to  go  forward. 

Assistant  Postmaster  E.  L.  Buck,  who  had  come  to  the 
station  with  a  large  mail,  learned  that  the  strikers  did  not 
propose  to  stop  the  mail  car;  and  so  applied  to  Superintendent 
Ilallstead  for  instructions.  He  was  informed  that  if  the  pas- 
senger cars  were  not  allowed  to  go,  the  mail  car  certainly 
should  not.  The  strikers  would  have  to  meet  the  responsi- 
bility of  interfering  with  the  United  States  mail. 

This  the  strikers  seemed  very  anxious  to  avoid.  They  en- 
tered at  once  upon  a  very  earnest  endeavor  to  persuade,  and 
then  to  compel  the  superintendent  to  send  forward  the  loco- 
motive with  the  mail  car.  They  proposed  not  only  to  show 
the  corporations  what  they  were  not  allowed  to  do,  but  what 
they  were  required  to  do.  They  proposed  even  to  run  the 
mail  themselves,  and  give  "the  honor  of  the  Brotherhood"  in 
pledge  for  its  safety.  They  had  no  grievance  against  the 
United  States  Government,  and  might  even  consent  to  do  this 
great  government  work  themselves  without  pay.  They  tele- 
graphed the  Governor  of  the  State,  and  then  the  Postmaster- 
general,  and  asked  that  the  mail  car  should  be  required  to  go 
forward.  The  Governor  answered  with  a  request  to  Mr.  Hall- 
stead  that  he  would  permit  the  mail  car  to  go  forward.  The 
Postmaster-General  was  silent.  But  the  superintendent  was 
inflexible.  The  contract  of  the  road  only  required  them  to 
carry  the  mails  with  their  passenger  trains,  and  if  the  one 
could  not  go,  he  said,  neither  could  the  other. 

So  Postmaster  Buck  telegraphed  the  fact  and  nature  of  the 
obstructions  to  his  superiors,  asked  for  instructions,  then  car- 
ried his  letter  sacks  back  to  the  office,  where  he  lit  his  pipe 
and  sat  down  upon  them  to  wait  for  coming  events.  The  city 
of  Scranton  was  thus  suddenly  cut  off  from  all  communication 
with  the  outside  world,  except  such  as  could  be  had  by  pri- 
vate conveyance. 


52  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

This  isolation,  serious  and  unexampled  as  it  was,  was  but 
the  beginning  of  troubles  in  and  about  the  city.  The  25th  of 
July  was  filled  with  strange  paradoxes,  in  the  life  of  the  city. 
The  mixture  of  intense  excitement,  with  the  marked  calmness 
of  the  people ;  the  noiseless  quiet  of  the  great  crowds,  the 
emphatic  protests  of  the  multitudes  engaged  in  trampling 
down  law,  that  they  should  stand  by  law  and  order  under  all 
circumstances,  fairly  bewildered  the  people.  All  that  they 
could  do  was  simply  to  wait. 

At  the  same  hour  that  the  passenger  trains  were  stopped,  a 
committee  of  miners  waited  upon  Mr.  William  R.  Storrs,  the 
Coal  Superintendent  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western 
Railway,  and  demanded  25  per  cent,  immediate  advance  of 
wages.  They  placed  in  his  hands  their  resolutions,  adopted 
the  day  before,  requiring  that  all  work  should  stop  until  their 
demand  should  be  met.  The  superintendent  replied  that  he 
had  no  power  to  grant  their  demand ;  and  that  no  answer 
could  be  obtained  from  the  directors  by  the  hour  they  had 
fixed  upon  to  cease  work.  This  committee  retired,  and,  at  2 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  made  their  report  to  a  mass-meeting 
of  miners  and  laborers  at  the  "  Round  Woods,"  in  Hyde 
Park,  only  to  find  that  even  a  sufficient  delay  to  transmit 
their  demands  to  the  office  in  New  York,  and  obtain  an  an- 
swer, could  not  be  granted.  The  miners'  strike  followed 
immediately.  So  the  mines  were  closed,  and  an  army  of  idle 
men  and  boys  from  the  whole  valley  was  turned  into  the 
streets. 

The  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company  strikers,  who  had 
sent  a  committee  the  evening  before  to  General  Manager 
Scranton  with  their  demand,  received  from  him  a  written 
answer,  which  was  a  model  of  kindness  and  courtesy.  It 
assured  them  of  the  impossibility  of  the  Company  grant- 
ing an  advance,  until  better  times  should  come,  when  they 
would  only  be  too  happy  to  raise  the  wages  of  all  deserving 


THE  SIROCCO  AND   THE   SIMOON.  53 

workmen.  This  answer  was  discussed  with  closed  doors,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  25th  the  conclusion  was  announced 
that  all  work  should  cease  in  the  mills  until  their  demands 
should  be  met.  Just  before  noon  the  great  engines  of  the 
blast-furnaces  and  rolling-mills  stopped  for  the  first  time  in 
their  history.  The  puddling-furnaces  were  abandoned  to  be 
chilled,  and  the"silence  of  death  passed  over  this  great  indus- 
try which,  for  upwards  of  forty  years,  had  been  as  the  centre 
of  life  to  the  city  and  the  adjacent  valley. 

About  the  same  hour  the  workmen  employed  in  the  Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna  and  Western  car  shops  made  the  same  de- 
mand of  Superintendent  Robert  McKenna ;  and  receiving  a 
negative  answer,  promptly  left  in  a  body,  and  the  busy  shops 
were  all  closed.  So  it  occurred  before  nightfall  of  July  25th, 
in  less  than  thirty  hours  from  the  first  movement  of  the  strike, 
every  great  industry  of  the  city  and  the  valley,  was  stopped 
except  one :  that  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company)  with  its 
gravity  road.  An  awful  silence  crept  along  the  streets  and 
into  the  homes  of  the  people. 

The  tread  of  silent  men,  like  the  march  of  threatening 
ghosts,  smote  the  ears  of  the  troubled  people  along  the  streets, 
and  benumbed  their  hearts  with  fear.  The  setting  sun  glanced 
down  upon  the  whole  valley,  of  such  wonderful  schemes  of  in- 
dustry, and  revealed  a  quiet  which  was  like  nothing  so  much 
as  death.  Of  the  thousands  of  engines  which  had  so  long 
glorified  the  coal  fields,  hanging  silver  clouds  over  the  valley 
and  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  all  were  silent  and  still. 
There  was  no  sound  of  either  wheels  or  hammers  in  all  the 
beautiful  valley  from  the  gateway  of  the  Susquehanna  through 
the  Moosic  mountain,  to  the  canal  basins  and  coal  deposits  on 
the  Lackawaxen.  Save  for  the  lonely  puff  of  the  engines  that 
pumped  the  water  from  some  of  the  mines,  which  could  not 
be  stopped  without  absolute  ruin,  the  signs  of  industry  had 
all  departed.     The  strike  had  in  two  days  become  universal- 


54  A  CITY'S  DANGER  AND  DEFENSE. 

An  organized  power  of  real  Anarchy  had  usurped  the  place 
of  law  in  the  community,  and,  with  sublime  pretence  of  virtue, 
assured  the  helpless  people  that  they  were  entirely  safe.  This 
was  but  the  gentle,  graceful  movement  of  the  viper  to  quiet 
the  heart-beat  of  the  little  child.  This  was  the  purring  lullaby 
of  the  lion  that  has  his  prey  under  his  paw. 

With  foot  upon  the  neck  of  civil  authority,  this  power  waved 
away  with  scorn,  the  fears  and  sense  of  right,  which  suggested 
to  the  city's  magistrate  a  call  for  military  force  to  protect  the 
city.  With  sublime  assumption  these  strikers  called  the  mayor 
from  his  executive  chair  to  treat  with  committees  of  law- 
breakers, and  demanded  that  he  should  recognize  them  as  the 
only  proper  keepers  of  the  public  peace. 

Such  were  the  scenes  which  closed  that  day  ;"  a  day  which 
was  followed  by  a  night  whose  silence  was  so  intense  and 
painful  the  people  could  not  sleep.  The  strike  was,  indeed,  a 
complete  success.  But  the  most  anxious,  painful  watcher  saw, 
among  the  stars  that  kept  on  their  solemn  pace  through  the 
silent  hours,  no  sign  which  augured  hope  that  a  single  griev- 
ance of  a  single  honest  workman,  would  be  removed  thereby. 
Nor  did  such  a  sign  ever  appear  along  such  a  line  of  tortuous 
vision. 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  55 


W 


CHAPTER   IV. 

DIVIDED   COUNSELS. 

Justice  Fallen  in  the  Streets — Efforts  to  Establish  Law  by  Compromise,  and  Order 
by  Treaty  with  Law-breakers — Preparations  for  Defense  and  Protection — 
Generation  and  Concentration  of  Forces,  Open  and  Secret — The  Wheels  begin 
to  Revolve  again,  not  without  Friction — Law-abiding  Citizens  propose  in 
their  Own  Way  to  assist  the  Law-breakers  to  keep  the  Peace  of  the  City. 

E  have  now  reached  a  point  in  our  narrative  when  history, 
in  order  to  be  intelligent  and  truthful,  must  become  more 
or  less  personal.  When  the  civil  authority  is  overcome  and 
defied,  the  honest  citizen  becomes  a  law  unto  himself.  When 
the  light  of  legal  authority  is  eclipsed  or  put  out,  the  good 
and  the  true  must  kindle  lights  for  themselves.  Society  re- 
duced to  chaos,  whether  by  the  wicked  or  by  the  deceived, 
must  crystallize  about  brave  spirits  who  are  endowed  with 
wisdom  to  devise  and  courage  to  execute  the  plans  by  which 
order  shall  be  restored  and  safety  secured.  The  entirely  un- 
precedented condition  of  affairs  and  the  recognized  helpless 
posture  of  the  executors  of  law,  on  the  night  of  July  25th, 
in  the  city,  set  every  law-abiding  citizen  to  the  consideration 
of  his  personal  and  public  duty  ;  and  the  immediately  succeed- 
ing days  developed  a  force  of  personal  manhood,  and  a  patri- 
otic devotion,  which  remain  still  as  a  rich  legacy  in  the  history 
of  the  city.  The  city's  imminent  and  visible  danger  suggested 
to  all  good  citizens  the  wisdom  of  a  careful  search  for  some 
reliable  and  sufficient  defense. 


56  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Circumstances  have  much  to  do  in  determining  character 
generally.  Exigency  develops  manhood  with  extraordinary 
rapidity.  When  danger  threatens,  the  timid  gather  about  the 
brave,  and  the  weak  lay  hold  of  the  strong.  Thus  virtuous 
society  quickly  reaches  its  poise,  gathers  up  its  strength  to 
withstand  the  shock  of  anarchy,  and  sets  itself  to  rescue  the 
legitimate  authority  from  weakness  and  dishonor. 

The  city  of  Scranton  on  the  25th  of  July,  1877,  when  the 
strike  had  reached  its  largest  proportions,  and  had  caused 
every  industry  of  the  valley  to  cease  except  one,  was  perhaps 
more  fully  at  the  mercy  of  the  elements  that  chose  to  be 
lawless  than  any  city  that  had  been  visited  by  the  great  strike. 
The  city  was  thought  to  contain  about  forty-eight  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  was  made  up,  socially  and  very  much  geo- 
graphically, of  communities  defined  by  race,  tastes  and  habits 
of  life.  Very  naturally  the  different  races  and  nationalities, 
when  they  came  in  sufficient  numbers,  segregated;  and  had 
formed  communities  in  this  city,  as  in  most  of  the  cities  in 
the  country.  While  this  habit  probably  added  to  the  enjoy- 
ment and  increased  the  home  feeling  of  the  generation  of 
emigrants,  and  did  not  prevent  the  people  from  being  good 
citizens,  it  certainly  retarded  the  unification  of  the  population 
and  gave  rise  to  perplexing  questions  concerning  municipal 
administration.  These  different  communities  dwelt  generally 
in  peace,  by  simply  allowing  each  to  follow  its  own  modes 
of  life,  and  by  quietly  submitting  to  the  general  results  in  the 
conduct  of  city  affairs  without  complaint.  Yet,  abnormal  as  it 
would  seem  to  be,  this  very  segregation  of  the  races  had  long 
proved  a  real  force  in  securing  the  general  good  order  of  the 
city.  It  constantly  kept  alive  that  pride  of  blood  which  made 
each  community  the  keeper  of  the  reputation  of  its  own 
people.  But  this  situation,  and  these  distinct  populations,  made 
the  problem  as  to  how  this  whole  people  might  be  fused  into 
a  unit  in  support  of  the  authority  of  law,  insoluble  to  any 
finite  mind. 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  57 

The  great  shops  and  factories  were  almost  entirely  situated 
along  the  line  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western 
Railway,  and  to  the  south  of  it.  Most  of  the  business  of  the 
city  was  confined,  at  that  time,  to  Lackawanna  and  Penn 
Avenues.  The  first  of  these  avenues  runs  its  whole  length 
nearly  parallel  with  the  railway,"  and  only  half  a  square  from 
it  at  any  point. 

The  miners,  who  are  chiefly  Welsh,  had  homes  of  their  own, 
and  lived  chiefly  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  in  what  was  then 
known  as  Hyde  Park. 

The  Germans,  who  were  generally  artisans  and  skilled  work- 
men, centered  about  Cedar  street,  on  the  south-west.  The  Irish 
laborers,  in  great  numbers,  lived  on  the  hill  to  the  south  and 
on  the  flats  along  the  river,  or  gathered  in  houses  belonging 
to  the  company  they  served,  about  the  breakers  where  they 
were  employed.  The  purely  American  population,  with  those 
that  readily  assimilated  with  them,  very  generally  occupied  the 
central  part  of  the  city,  spreading  out  to  the  northward  as  far 
as  Providence.  While  the  city  was  greatly  scattered  and  oc- 
cupied a  large  territory,  the  great  mass  of  its  business  and 
valuable  property  were  strikingly  concentrated.  The  almost 
countless  "  Patches,"  as  they  were  called,  on  all  sides  in  the 
outskirts,  were  beyond  the  reach  of  a  police  and  afforded  nests 
for  hatching  any  kind  of  schemes  of  communism  and  vio- 
lence. An  hour's  work  of  such  a  mob  as  at  that  time  could 
have  been  gathered  in  less  than  an  hour,  could  have  ruined 
all  the  best  interests  of  the  city.  Such  was  the  vision  of 
Scranton  that  hovered  about  the  pillows  of  the  thinking  people 
on  the  night  of  the  25th,  when  the  strike  had  reached  its  cli- 
max, and  had  the  city  at  its  mercy. 

The  Mayor,  the  Hon.  Robert  H.  McKune,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  strike,  seemed  to  appreciate  the  real  situation,  and 
with  a  patience  and  wisdom  entirely  unexpected,  and  little  ap- 
prehended at  the  time,  addressed  himself  to  the  work  of  a 


58  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

mediator  between  the  strikers  and  their  employers.  He  had 
been  elected,  chiefly,  by  the  men  who  now  assumed  the  control 
of  the  city ;  and  hence  held  a  questionable  position  in  the  con- 
fidence of  the  great  mass  of  the  law-abiding  citizens,  which 
made  his  work  only  the  more  difficult. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  the  Mayor  published  his  call 
upon  all  business  men  who  were  willing  to  combine  for  pro- 
tection and  the  maintenance  of  order,  to  present  themselves 
at  his  office  and  enroll  as  "  special  police."  At  the  same  time 
he  published  the  names  of  ten  responsible  citizens  whom  he 
had  selected  as  advisers,  and  requested  them  to  report  at  his 
office  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  These  gentlemen  were 
W.  W.  Winton,  Colonel  F.  L.  Hitchcock,  Austin  M.  Decker, 
Henry  B.  Rockwell,  B.  G.  Morgan,  Lewis  Pughe,  J.  A.  Price, 
M.  W.  Clark,  C.  Dupont  Breck,  and  Edward  Merrifield. 

This  committee  met  at  the  time  appointed,  and  discussed 
the  situation.  They  soon  found  themselves  divided  on  the 
question  of  organizing  a  force  to  meet  any  violent,  or  openly 
lawless,  movement  of  the  strikers.  The  majority  favored  a  quiet 
and  peaceable  waiting,  with  confidence  in  the  protestations  of 
all  the  committees  of  the  strikers,  that  they  would  maintain 
order  themselves,  and  see  that  no  violence  should  be  attempted 
in  the  city.  At  least  two  members  of  the  committee  earnestly 
advised  the  enrolling  of  special  police,  and  the  gathering  of 
arms  for  their  use.  So  the  Mayor,  under  a  divided  judgment 
of  his  advisers,  opened  his  books  for  the  enrollment  of  special 
police,  in  accordance  with  the  published  call  of  Governor 
Hartranft  upon  all  communities  where  the  strike  prevailed. 

Meanwhile  the  strikers  held  almost  continual  sessions  by 
their  head  men  and  committees.  Each  division  or  society  of 
labor  had  its  own  headquarters,  and  carefully  excluded  all  who 
did  not  belong  to  their  particular  association.  The  "Brother- 
hoods" of  Railway-men,  occupying  Washington  Hall  on 
Lackawanna  Avenue,  but  a  square  away  from  the  station  and 


DIVIDED    COUNSELS.  59 

railway  offices,  very  soon  manifested  their  conviction  that  a 
greater  responsibility  had  been  taken  than  they  had  intended. 
They  had  expected  to  fight  their  own  battle.  They  seem 
neither  to  have  expected  nor  desired  to  be  joined  by  the  miners, 
laborers,  or  workers  in  the  mills.  The  mayor  met  their  com- 
mittee and  tried  to  arrange  terms  of  agreement  for  them  with 
the  superintendents.  To  him  they  repeated  their  pledge  to 
maintain  law  and  order  in  the  city.  The  strikers  from  the 
mills  met  in  the  "Father  Matthew  Hall,"  and  passed  reso- 
lutions denying  the  right  of  the  Mayor  to  appoint  "  special 
police,"  and  requesting  the  City  Council  to  interfere  to  prevent 
it,  or  at  least  to  refuse  to  pay  such  police;  and  the  Councils 
did  pass  their  vote  of  censure  upon  his  honor  in  obedience  to 
this  indignant  demand.  The  miners  took  similar  action  at 
Fellows'  Hall,  and  filled  the  air  with  the  expression  of  their 
hot  indignation  at  the  mayor's  call  for  aid  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  the  city.  So  the  citizens  and  the  strikers  were  alike  divided. 
At  the  hour  appointed  for  the  enrollment  of  the  Special 
Police,  the  mayor,  on  entering  his  office  in  perplexity  over  the 
various  opinions  on  the  subject,  found  two  men  waiting  to 
write  their  names,  and  so  he  opened  his  book  for  enrollment. 
The  first  name  written  and  accepted  was  that  of  H.  H.  Merrill, 
the  teacher  of  a  boys'  school  in  the  city,  who  ever  after  was 
found  ready  and  unflinching  in  his  public  duty.  The  second 
was  Henry  M.  Boies,  who  will  appear  again  in  this  history  as 
one  to  whom  the  Scranton  City  Guard,  and  the  City  itself, 
owes  a  heavy  debt  of  gratitude.  The  third  enrollment  was 
that  of  Ezra  H.  Ripple;  the  fourth,  that  of  Charles  R.  Smith; 
the  fifth,  that  of  Harry  V.  Logan ;  the  sixth,  that  of  Peter  F. 
Gunster,  and  the  seventh,  F.  L.  Hitchcock.  A  very  few  more 
names  were  added,  when  it  became  evident  that  the  great 
weight  of  opinion  was  against  the  measure,  and  it  was  prose- 
cuted no  farther.  There  were  two  lines  of  conviction,  which 
very  soon  became  apparent;  one  of  which  was  that  of  a  large 


60  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

class  of  good  citizens, — that  any  preparation  which  might  be 
undertaken  could  only  excite  and  anger  the  strikers,  and  thus 
possibly  precipitate  a  mob,  which  it  would  be  impossible  to 
gather  force  enough  to  control ;  the  other  was  that  of  many 
equally  good  citizens,  who  believed  a  force  of  resistance  should 
be  organized,  but  who  lacked  faith  in  the  Mayor  himself,  and 
were  unwilling  to  put  themselves  under  his  command ;  while 
they  were  entirely  ready  to  enlist  for  the  defense  of  the  city. 
The  published  accounts  of  the  conduct  of  executive  officers  in 
other  parts  of  the  State  had  not  tended  to  the  establishment  of 
faith  in  a  mayor,  who  had  not  yet  established  himself  in  the 
confidence  of  the  best  citizens. 

At  the  door  of  the  Mayor's  office,  about  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  the  26th,  two  young  men  casually  met,  and  for 
some  time  discussed  the  situation.  They  agreed  that  the 
citizens  ought  to  arm,  and  prepare  for  the  protection  of  the  city. 
They  saw  the  city's  danger,  but  discovered  no  defense.  The 
one  had  just  written  his  name  on  the  mayor's  book  as  a  special 
policeman,  and  was  a  worthy  veteran  of  the  war;  the  other  was 
a  law  student,  who  refused  to  enlist  in  that  way,  but  expressed 
his  readiness  to  join  an  independent  company;  and  give  his 
service  to  the  raising  of  volunteers  for  such  a  company  at 
once.  These  two  young  men  were  Charles  R.  Smith  and  Ar- 
thur C.  Logan.  1  They  slowly  walked  up  the  street  discussing 
the  matter  until  they  reached  the  conclusion  to  act  without 
delay,  and  test  the  possibility  of  raising  an  independent  com- 
pany for  the  city's  defense.  The  state  of  the  public  mind  and 
the  peculiar  danger,  they  knew,  demanded  very  quiet  and  secret 
action,  and  they  pledged  themselves  to  each  other  to  stand 
together.  They  entered  the  drug-store,  which  was  then  kept 
by  one  J.  H.  Phelps,  at  the  corner  of  Wyoming  Avenue  and 
Spruce  Street;  and  there  wrote  an  enlistment  paper,  and  set  out 
immediately  to  secure  signatures.  That  paper  was  as  follows: 
to  wit, — 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  61 

"Whereas,  by  a  call  dated  July  25,  1877,  the  Mayor  of  this  city  has 
called  upon  the  business  men  for  organization ;  and  whereas,  the  pre- 
sent state  of  affairs  in  the  city  and  vicinity  warrants  a  feeling  of  inse- 
curity on  the  part  of  the  business  portion  of  the  community  ;  and,  although 
a  creditable  determination  is  expressed  by  all  parties  to  the  present  con- 
flict of  interests,  and  while  we  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  their  good 
faith,  still  we  feel'that  an  organization,  on  our  part,  will  present  tangible 
support  to  their  efforts  in  sustaining  the  legal  authorities  in  preserving 
peace  and  good  order,  and  will  guarantee  protection  to  property  in  the 
event  of  intrusion  from  such  elements  of  discord  as  might  present  them- 
selves : 

"  We,  therefore,  proffer  our  services  as  a  company,  to  be  known  as 
the  '  Scranton  Citizens'  Corps,'  in  furtherance  of  the  objects  above  set 
forth.  July  26th,  1877. " 

It  might  be  a  question,  suggested  by  the  peculiar  structure 
of  this  paper,  whether  it  proposed  a  company  to  aid  the  strikers, 
or  the  legal  authorities,  in  the  maintenance  of  order.  But  sub- 
sequent events  left  no  doubt  of  the  real  intention. 

This  paper  was  signed  by  one  hundred  and  sixteen  young 
men  in  the  course  of  the  day.  The  first  name  upon  it  is  that 
of  Ezra  H.  Ripple,  and  bears  the  evidence  that  it  was  not 
written  by  himself  but  by  Mr.  Smith,  who  doubtless  had  au- 
thority to  do  so.  These  young  men  secured  the  interest  of  a 
merchant,  R.  B.  Merriam  by  name,  in  the  movement,  who  went 
out  with  them  to  help  to  enlist  their  company.  They  were 
soon  joined  by  H.  V.  Logan,  John  T.  Howe  and  Samuel  H. 
Stevens  ;  and  these  six  completed  the  work,  with  great  quiet- 
ness, before  the  day  closed.  After  nightfall,  they  gathered  the 
men  they  had  enlisted  in  the  rooms  of  the  "  Forest  &  Stream 
Sportsman's  Club,"  on  Lackawanna  Avenue,  over  the  Lacka- 
wanna Valley  Bank,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  owners  of 
the  building.  Mr.  Smith  happened  to  have  a  key,  and  took 
the  responsibility  of  opening  the  doors,  being  a  member  of 
the  club.  As  near  as  can  be  determined  twenty-eight  of  the 
signers  of  this  paper  appeared  at  this  meeting,  which  was  or- 
ganized by  the  election  of  Frederick  W.  Gunster,  chairman, 


62  A  CITY'S  DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

and  S.  H.  Stevens,  secretary.  The  minutes  of  their  meeting 
were  preserved  in  memoranda  that  have  never  been  fully  writ- 
ten out;  but  the  discussions  and  items  of  business  are  suffici- 
ently indicated,  and  become  quite  clear  in  the  light  of  well- 
known  facts.  The  questions  which  divided  and  perplexed  the 
citizens  generally  came  up  in  the  meeting.  They  were  such 
questions  as  these:  What  relations  should  this  company  hold 
to  the  Mayor  ?  How  can  it  be  so  organized  as  to  be  legal, 
and  yet  remain  entirely  in  the  command  of  its  own  officers 
when  on  duty  ?  One  party  desired  to  have  the  whole  mem- 
bership enrolled  as  special  police,  but  found  very  little  follow- 
ing, and  it  was  decided  to  organize  independently  as  the 
"  Scranton  Citizens'  Corps." 

Ezra  H.  Ripple,  who  as  yet  knew  nothing  of  the  shape  mat- 
ters had  taken,  being  out  of  the  city,  was  nominated  as  Captain, 
and  received  every  vote,  except  one,  which  was  cast  for  Colonel 
F.  L.  Hitchcock.  The  Colonel  had  made  an  excellent  record 
in  the  war,  both  as  a  soldier  and  commanding  officer,  and 
was  personally  popular;  and  the  only  explanation  of  his  small 
vote  for  this  command  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  member  of  the  mayor's  committee,  and  advocated  direct 
relationship  to  that  officer,  on  the  part  of  the  company. 

R.  B.  Merriam  was  elected  first-lieutenant,  and  James  E. 
Brown  second-lieutenant ;  the  latter  being  elected  over  G.  S. 
Throop,  who  received  a  respectable  vote.  These  officers  were 
authorized  by  vote  to  appoint  all  the  non-commissioned  offi- 
cers who  might  be  needed.  Committees  were  appointed  on 
membership,  and  for  securing  a  place  for  drill.  The  number 
of  members  was  by  vote  limited  to  one  hundred  and  one;  but 
this  order  was  rescinded  on  the  following  day.  It  was  ordered 
that  the  company  should  report  for  duty  only  upon  the  call  of 
its  own  officers,  and  then  it  adjourned  until  the  evening  of  the 
27th. 

Thus  "  The  Scranton  Citizens'  Corps  "  was  organized  with 


L  _M. 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  63 

the  utmost  secrecy,  to  avoid  excitement,  and  found  itself  with- 
out arms  or  ammunition,  or  even  a  place  in  the  city  where  it 
would  be  prudent,  or  safe,  to  attempt  to  drill.  But  it  was 
made  up  of  cool  heads  and  stout  hearts,  and  had  in  it  many 
who  knew  what  war  is ;  men  who  proposed  to  stand  by  the 
interests  of  the  city  and  maintain  the  law,  whatever  might  be 
the  consequences  to  themselves. 

During  the  same  day  there  were  other  men,  who  knew  no- 
thing of  this  movement  to  organize  a  military  company,  who 
were  busy  rendering  services  by  which  this  inchoate  company 
was  speedily  to  become  a  force  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
legal  authority. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  Captain  Ripple  went  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  on  business,  in  company  with  Mr.  James  Ruth- 
ven, having  authorized  Charles  R.  Smith  to  sign  his  name  on 
the  mayor's  call  for  special  police.  These  gentlemen  called 
upon  General  Osborne,  then  commanding  the  National  Guard 
in  this  part  of  the  State,  and  obtained  from  him  authority, 
which  was  issued  to  Mr.  Ruthven,  to  collect  all  arms  he  could 
find  belonging  to  the  State  in  the  region,  and  hold  them  in 
Scranton.  With  this  authority  they  started  for  home,  only  to 
find  that  the  last  train  had  been  stopped.  By  the  kindness 
ofan  engineer  they  were  permitted  to  return  late  at  night  on  a 
Jocomotive,  sent  out  by  a  committee  of  strikers  to  bring  engi- 
neers to  their  homes.  It  was  not  until  the  next  morning  that 
the  captain  learned  of  his  election  to  command  a  military 
company,  of  whose  existence  he  had  no  knowledge.  Mr. 
Ruthven  immediately  set  about  the  work  of  collecting  arms, 
with  profound  secrecy  and  courage.  He  could  only  move  on 
his  work  late  at  night,  and  take  with  him  one  or  two  helpers, 
at  most,  to  avoid  attracting  attention.  His  work  was  made 
doubly  hazardous  from  the  fact  that,  as  the  head  clerk  of  the 
coal  department  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western 
Road,  he  was  well  known  to  the  strikers,  whether  railway  men 


64  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

or  miners.  Through  Providence  and  Abington  he  drove  his 
team,  after  midnight,  gathering  the  guns  left  in  the  hands  of  a 
disbanded  militia  company,  having  with  him  a  single  assistant. 
Within  three  days  he  secured  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
guns — quite  a  respectable  armament.  The  banks  and  railway 
officers  were  unwilling  to  have  these  guns  placed  in  their  safes, 
and  the  mayor  applied  to  Mr.  Scranton,  who  received  them  with- 
out hesitancy  and  made  no  secret  of  their  being  in  his  possession. 

While  Ruthven  was  employed  in  this  work,  whose  definite 
use  he  had  not  yet  discerned,  three  brave  young  men  of  the 
Citizens'  Company  took  it  into  their  heads  to  secure  ammuni- 
tion for  the  guns,  they  knew  they  must  have,  if  they  were  to 
be  of  any  use  in  protecting  the  city. 

So,  on  the  night  of  the  26th  of  July,  in  a  two-seated  buggy, 
they  drove  to  Kingston,  aroused  General  Osborne  from  his 
bed  about  midnight,  and  secured  an  order  for  any  fixed  am- 
munition they  might  find  in  Pittston,  which  could  be  spared 
by  the  militia  stationed  there.  On  they  drove,  and  after  great 
risk,  and  difficulty,  they  secured  three  hundred  rounds  from 
the  officer  in  command  ;  placed  these  under  the  seat  of  their 
buggy,  and  about  daybreak  of  the  27th,  put  them  in  a  place  of 
safety,  in  Scranton.  These  three  men  were  William  J.  Watts, 
William  W.  Paterson  and  William  B.  Henwood,  three  brave 
Williams,  all  of  whom  proved  themselves  efficient  and  faithful 
soldiers  in  the  after  events  of  the  service. 

As  soon  as  the  blast-furnaces  were  stopped,  at  noon  of  the 
20th,  forces  began  to  develop  specific  purposes  about  the 
Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company's  works  and  store.  Mr. 
W.  W.  Scranton,  the  General  Manager,  was  known  to  the 
whole  city  as  a  man  of  decided  courage  and  of  unflinch- 
ing purpose.  Warned  by  the  experiences  of  1871,  when 
he  had  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  meeting  lawless  move- 
ments with  boldness  and  force,  he  had  secured  fifty  stands  of 
breech-loading  rifles,  and  had  them  stowed  away  for  use.    He 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  65 

learned  that  many  of  the  men,  who  had  hastily  gone  into  the 
strike,  were  sick  of  the  venture,  and  would  at  once  return  to 
work  if  they  could  be  protected.  He  wrote  them  an  eloquent 
letter,  appealing  to  their  manhood  and  patriotic  principles. 
He  assured  them  of  the  certain  ultimate  triumph  of  law  and 
order,  and  promised-  them  all  the  protection  they  needed. 
Near  one  o'clock,  on  the  same  day,  Mr.  Henry  A.  Kings- 
bury, superintendent  of  the  Company  store,  discovered  strange 
and  suspicious  men  entering  in  and  passing  through  the  store. 
He  sent  them  out  and  had  them  shadowed.  They  were 
strangers  in  the  city,  and  he  found  they  joined  the  crowd  of 
strikers.  About  half  an  hour  afterwards,  a  man  who  had  a 
kindly  heart  towards  Mr.  Kingsbury,  came  to  him  out  of 
breath,  and  revealed  the  plot  of  a  multitude  in  the  outskirts  of 
the' city  to  come  by  night  and  rifle  the  store.  He  said  all 
kinds  of  vehicles  had  been  secured  to  carry  away  the  goods. 
This  man's  story  was  soon  sufficiently  corroborated  from 
other  sources  to  warrant  the  organization  of  an  efficient 
guard.  Mr.  Kingsbury  requested  all  clerks,  who  had  suffi- 
cient courage,  to  remain  for  the  night  on  the  watch.  Mr. 
Scranton  brought  out  the  guns  of  the  Company,  put  them  in 
the  hands  of  the  clerks,  and  prepared  to  give  the  robbers  a 
warm  reception.  They  sent  out  and  secured  the  volunteer 
services  of  a  number  of  the  best  young  men  of  the  city,  to 
help  them  watch.  On  the  first  night  they  had  sixteen  gath- 
ered as  a  little  band  for  the  protection  of  the  property ; 
while  the  ladies  connected  with  the  store,  under  the  direction 
of  Mrs.  W.  W.  Manness,  Miss  Mary  Mattes  and  Mrs.  Saxton, 
organized  a  commissary  for  them.  As  the  clerks  had  to  be 
on  duty  during  the  day,  the  young  men  from  outside  assumed 
the  whole  duty  of  the  night-watch. 

On  the  27th,  Captain  Ripple,  with  the  committee  on  secur- 
ing a  drill-room  for  the  Citizen's  Company,  made  application 
for  every  unoccupied  hall  in  the  central  part  of  the  city,  and 
5 


66  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

failed  entirely.  The  owners  of  these  properties  were  afraid  to 
have  them  used,  even  secretly,  for  such  a  purpose.  The 
Company  found  no  moral  support  from  the  business  citizens 
generally.  The  great  body  of  them  were  unwilling  to  have  it 
known  that  such  an  organization  existed.  In  the  evening  the 
Company  met  in  the  rooms  of  the  Forest  and  Stream  Club 
again,  when  seventy-six  members  seem  to  have  been  present. 
The  committee  on  drill-room  reported  progress,  and  was 
continued.  Volunteers  to  clean  guns  which  had  been  gath- 
ered, and  prepare  ammunition,  were  called  for,  and  Thomas 
H.  Watts,  George  F.  Barnard,  M.  J.  Andrews,  W.  W.  Pater- 
son,  W.  J.  Watts,  E.  H.  Ripple,  J.  E.  Brown,  H.  V.  and  A.  C. 
Logan  and  H.  A.  Knapp  volunteered  for  the  first  night's  work. 
A  number  of  the  members  of  this  company  had  been  on 
watch  the  night  before,  with  the  sixteen  in  the  Company's 
store. 

The  following  non-commissioned  officers  were  appointed  ; 
to  wit :  orderly  sergeant,  Daniel  Bartholomew ;  2d  sergeant, 
Andrew  Bryson,  Jr.  ;  3d  sergeant,  W.  W.  Paterson ;  4th 
sergeant,  Walter  Chur;  5th  sergeant,  Edward  J.  Smith;  6th 
sergeant,  F.  L.  Hitchcock.  A  roll  of  classified  members  was 
prepared,  with  their  place  of  business,  where  notification,  on 
sudden  call  from  the  officers,  could  reach  them ;  and  a  signal 
was  determined  upon  by  which  the  company  should  be  called 
together  at  any  time  of  day  or  night.  This  signal  was  a 
specified  number  of  taps  on  the  bell  in  the  tower  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  which  was  the  oldest  and  best-known 
bell  in  the  city.  At  its  signal  every  member  bound  himself 
to  report  at  headquarters  as  quickly  as  he  could  reach  it. 
Henry  V.  and  Arthur  C.  Logan,  the  sons  of  the  pastor,  were 
appointed  to  give  this  signal,  and  were  placed  under  strict 
orders  to  give  it  only  when  they  should  receive  command 
from  one  of  the  three  officers  of  the  company. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  different  headquarters   of  the  strikers, 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  67 

their  leaders  were  busy.  Their  committees  held  continuous 
session.  On  the  26th  a  number  of  the  leading  men  and  rail- 
way directors  met  in  the  Wyoming  House  in  consultation. 
Among  these  were  Thomas  Dickson,  President  of  the  Dela- 
ware &  Hudson,  C.  F.  Young,  J.  J.  Albright,  R.  Manville, 
Edward  W.  Weston  and  others  of  that  road ;  Mr.  John  Brisbin 
and  Isaac  J.  Post,  counsellors  for  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
&  Western  R.  R.,  with  Messrs.  Hallstead,  Storrs,  Fowler  and 
others  of  that  road.  The  railway  strikers  sent  an  engine 
down  the  road  with  a  committee  to  consult  with  the  leaders 
of  their  Brotherhood  at  some  point  between  Scranton  and 
New  York ;  and  the  Mayor  worked  all  day  of  the  27th  to 
secure  a  basis  of  compromise  between  the  strikers  and  these 
railway  officials,  representing  the  greatest  interests  that  were 
at  stake. 

Rumors  of  the  ending,  or  "  weakening  of  the  strike"  on  the 
Morris  &  Essex  Road  crept  through  the  community;  and  the 
passing  and  repassing  of  committees  between  the  headquarters 
of  the  Brotherhood  and  the  railway  officials  in  the  city  were 
watched  with  intense  interest.  But  the  day  passed  without 
definite  signs,  and  night  came,  filled  with  reports  of  myste- 
rious gatherings  in  the  "  Patches  "  in  the  outskirts,  and  with 
exaggerated  threats  of  pillage  and  violence. 

The  young  men  watched  in  the  "  Company's  Store,"  and 
whiled  away  the  hours  of  the  night  fixing  ammunition  into 
cartridges  or  burnishing  rusty  guns.  James  Ruthven  and  his 
assistants  came  down  through  the  Notch  after  midnight  with 
a  wagon-load  of  arms  gathered  up  in  the  Abington  District, 
which  were  in  no  condition  for  use ;  and  these  young  men 
organized  a  shop,  and  became  skilled  workers  in  metal  in  a 
few  hours ;  and  the  dawn  brought  the  three  venturesome 
Williams,  with  their  three  hundred  rounds  of  fixed  ammuni- 
tion. 

The  passing  out  and  in  of  this  brave  little  guard,  and  the 


68  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

glitter  of  the  Remington  breech-loaders,  it  was  supposed, 
made  a  salutary  impression  upon  the  prowlers  that  crept  up 
among  the  ore-piles  across  the  street  from  the  store,  and  led 
to  a  present  abandonment  of  the  scheme  of  plunder,  of  which 
warning  had  been  given.  The  morning  dawned  upon  the 
isolated  city,  only  to  bring  new  omens  of  evil  and  of  good  to 
perplex  and  burden  the  helpless  community. 

On  the  28th  word  came  to  Superintendent  Storrs  that  the 
miners  demanded  that  the  pumps  should  be  stopped  at  the 
mines.  The  engineers  having  charge  had  promptly  left  the 
pumps  at  the  time  the  strike  was  ordered,  and  their  places 
had  been  filled  by  bosses,  clerks  and  surveyors,  all  volunteers, 
who  were  entirely  unconnected  with  the  miners'  associations. 
These  substitutes  were  informed  by  the  miners,  that  they  would 
have  to  run  these  engines  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  as  it  was 
determined  by  the  strikers  to  leave  the  mines  to  be  flooded. 

This  would  bring  immeasurable  ruin  upon  the  whole  in- 
dustry, and  leave  the  miners  themselves  without  hope  of 
employment  for  at  least  a  year  to  come.  Mr.  Storrs  immedi- 
ately appealed  to  the  mayor  for  protection,  and  he  called 
his  advisory  committee  together;  but  nothing  definite  was 
undertaken.  The  mayor's  volunteer  policemen  were  recog- 
nized, only  to  be  denounced  by  the  mass-meeting  at  the  Round 
Woods,  where,  at  least,  five  thousand  strikers  were  gathered; 
and  there  was  nowhere  in  the  valley  a  reliable  militia,  sufficient 
to  warrant  an  attempt  to  guard  these  pumps.  But,  through 
the  Mayor  and  Superintendent  Storrs,  better  counsels  were 
secured  from  the  committee  of  the  miners.  This  committee, 
after  consultation  with  the  mayor,  issued  their  orders  to  pre- 
vent this  lawless  disaster.  The  rumored  weakening  of  the 
Railway  Brotherhood,  perhaps,  helped  them  to  this  conclu- 
sion, and  the  pumping  was  allowed  to  go  on  in  most  of  the 
mines. 

There  were  a  few  signs  of  violence  in  and  about  the  city 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  69 

during  the  day,  but  generally  great  qufet  prevailed.  Strange 
faces  appeared  in  the  streets,  and  men  without  business  gath- 
ered in  the  outskirts.  An  attempt  was  made  to  set  fire  to  the 
store  of  Alexander  Connell,  near  the  breaker  at  the  Connell 
mines,  in  the  evening ;  and  acts  of  violence  at  different  points 
in  the  valley  were  reported.  But  the  day  closed  with  the 
same  dull  monotony  of  burden  and  anxiety.  The  week  ended 
with  no  sign  of  relief,  by  the  coming  of  troops  to  preserve  or- 
der; nor  were  there  any  tangible  evidences  of  the  resumption 
of  work  by  the  trainmen  and  engineers. 

Mf.  Samuel  H.  Stevens  succeeded  in  securing  Kiefer's 
Hall,  ^t  the  corner  of  Penn  Avenue  and  Mulberry  street,  for 
one  night,  at  a  rental  of  five  dollars,  for  the  use  of  the  Citizens' 
Company ;  and  on  Saturday  night  the  members  of  the  Com- 
pany secretly  gathered  into  it  for  a  drill.  This  hall  was  in  the 
third  story  of  the  building ;  and  having  stationed  a  guard  at 
the  entrance,  the  lights  were  turned  down  to  avoid  exciting 
observation,  and  the  young  men  assembled.  Here  this  chaos 
of  military  effort  was  partially  reduced  to  order.  The  young 
men  took  off  their  shoes  to  avoid  noise,  and  were  placed  in 
the  ranks  in  their  stocking  feet.  Neither  the  Captain  nor  his 
Lieutenants  were  at  all  acquainted  with  the  tactics  then  in 
use.  They  therefore  went  into  the  ranks  with  the  men;  and 
the  Orderly-Sergeant,  Daniel  Bartholomew,  who  had  served 
in  the  cavalry  through  the  civil  war,  undertook  the  work. 
Assuming  them  all  to  be  mounted,  he  soon  taught  them  to 
march  by  fours  to  the  right  and  left;  and  becoming  inspired 
with  the  touch  of  their  elbows,  they  soon  gathered  courage 
and  felt  strong.  They  marched  and  countermarched,  and 
shook  the  building,  until  fears  were^excited  lest  it  might  fall, 
and  difficulties  seemed  to  accumulate.  The  hall  was  not 
far  from  the  Pine  Brook  Breaker,  where  one  of  the  most 
dangerous  elements  of  the  striking  population  was  supposed 
to  be  found.     A  crowd  gathered  about  the  building  as  the 


70  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

drill  went  on,  and  sought  to  uncover  the  secret  work  going  on 
upstairs,  but  found  no  light.  Late  at  night  the  young  men 
quietly  dispersed,  maintaining  an  absolute  silence  as  they 
passed  among  the  crowd,  a  portion  of  them  going  to  the 
Company's  store  to  watch  with  Mr.  Scranton's  forces.  From 
these  Mr.  Scranton  learned  of  the  existence  of  Captain  Rip- 
ple's Company,  and  of  its  inability  to  secure  a  safe  place  for 
drill ;  and  he  immediately  sent  Captain  Ripple  a  cordial  invita- 
tion to  rendezvous  his  Company  at  the  store,  and  use  the  up- 
per story  of  the  building  for  that  purpose.  Sabbath  eve- 
ning, July  29th,  found  this  Company  quietly  gathered  in  these 
comfortable  quarters.  Here  they  drilled,  made  cartridges,  re- 
paired guns,  and  reduced  their  watch  to  military  order. 

The  Christian  people  gathered  to  the  worship  of  their  sanc- 
tuaries, on  this  Sabbath  morning,  with  heavy  hearts  and 
gloomy  forebodings,  which  doubtless  were  aggravated  by  the 
fact  that  so  many  of  the  churches  were  deprived  of  the  ser- 
vices of  their  pastors,  who  were  away  on  their  vacations,  with- 
out the  ability  either  to  return,  or  communicate  with  their 
people.  The  whole  city  seemed  to  be  put  back  to  the  life  be- 
fore railways  and  factories  had  been  built.  The  city  papers 
established  a  pony-express  to  carry  the  news  to  neighboring 
towns ;  and  the  streets  of  Scranton  were  surprised  by  the  en- 
trance of  the  Wilkes-Barre  stage  coach;  but  the  records  do 
not  show  whether  it  brought  with  it  the  ancient  tin  horn,  or 
came  without  announcement. 

The  price  of  merchandise  began  to  advance,  and  the  strikers 
had  met  on  Friday  morning,  when  they  gave  notice  to  all 
merchants,  that  if  any  of  them  dared  to  raise  their  prices  on 
goods  of  any  kind,  their  names  should  at  once  be  published, 
and  they  be  held  up  to  everlasting  infamy.  This  warning,  as 
published  on  Saturday,  July  28th,  was  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"Resolved,  That  we,  the  working-men  of  Scranton,  do  most  earnestly 
appeal  to  the  magnanimity  and  manhood  of  our  merchants  in  these  most 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  71 

trying  times  ;  and  we  hope  that  they  will  not  still  further  add  more  misery 
to  our  cause  by  advancing  the  prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

"  Be  it  further  resolved,  That  if  our  merchants  should  persist  in  ad- 
vancing their  prices,  that  we  will  hold  a  public  meeting,  and  openly  and 
publicly  denounce  their  conduct,  and  shall  expose  them  to  the  scorn  and 
contempt  of  mankind  throughout  the  world." 

Such  a  fusilade  and  pronunciamento  in  the  face  of  the  laws 
of  trade  and  the  first  principles  of  Christian  civilization  and 
government,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  could  only  have 
suggested  to  the  average  citizen  that  plucky  cow  that  under- 
took to  square  accounts  with  the  blustering  locomotive,  and 
saved  her  reputation  for  courage  at  the  expense  of  her  judg- 
ment. But  in  the  city  of  Scranton,  cut  off  from  all  help,  and 
without  even  sufficient  public  courage  to  ask  for  troops  to  put 
down  lawlessness,  it  suggested  not  even  a  hint  of  laughter. 
It  simply  uncovered  the  broad  way  that  leads  to  anarchy.  It 
showed  to  all  thinking  men  the  horrible  volcano  over  whose 
thin  crust  all  public  interests  of  the  city  were  suspended. 

On  Monday  morning,  July  36th,  the  engineers  and  pump- 
men of  Hyde  Park  published  a  denial  of  the  truth  of  the 
charge,  that  intimidation  had  been  used  to  stop  the  pumps  at 
the  mines,  and  expressed  their  belief  that  the  corporations 
and  companies  whose  property  was  at  stake,  were  themselves 
striving  to  stir  up  riot  and  violence.  What  reasons  led  to  such 
persuasion  as  this,  these  pretended  preservers  of  the  public 
peace  have  not  left  on  record. 

The  30th  of  July  was  marked  by  a  general  quiet  in  the 
streets,  and  signs  of  peace  seemed  to  be  discovered  with  more 
or  less  distinctness  by  the  great  body  of  citizens.  The  strikers 
of  all  classes  had  behaved  themselves  with  sobriety  and  quiet- 
ness. Save  for  the  intemperate  action  of  some  of  their  meet- 
ings, and  the  incendiary  torch,  applied  most  probably  by  those 
who  found  no  countenance  from  the  workmen's  associations ; 
the  citizens  would  have  felt  themselves  to  be  safe  in  their  homes. 


72  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

There  was  a  sharp  division  of  opinion  among  the  people  gen- 
erally as  to  the  real  dangers  which  beset  the  city.  The  mayor 
had  remained  on  duty  at  his  office  day  and  night,  from  the 
day  the  strike  began.  He  had  succeeded,  as  he  thought,  in 
convincing  the  miners  that  he  was  their  friend ;  and  secured 
from  their  committees  ultimate  propositions  with  which  he 
could  approach  the  companies  on  their  behalf.  Rumors  of 
weakening  of  the  Brotherhood's  strike  on  the  Delaware,  Lack- 
awanna and  Western,  and  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  roads, 
quietly  gained  definiteness  and  strength,  throughout  the  whole 
Sabbath,  while  no  sign  of  its  truth  could  actually  be  discerned. 
The  Pennsylvania  Company,  whose  employes  had  refused  to 
join  the  strike,  kept  their  cars  on  the  move  up  to  Saturday  night, 
when  a  little  after  midnight,  the  watchman  at  No.  5  Head  House 
was  seized  by  a  band  of  disguised  men,  who  burned  the  house 
in  his  presence.  This  compelled  cessation  of  the  whole  work 
of  this  company,  as  the  destruction  of  the  engine  at  one  of 
the  planes  of  the  gravity  road  stopped  the  transportation  of 
coal  along  the  whole  route.  This  wicked  destruction  of  the 
head  house,  with  its  stationary  engine,  convinced  both  citizens 
and  railway  men,  that  whatever  honest  protestations  the  strikers 
might  make,  the  lawless  element  was  abroad.  The  promise  of 
the  strikers  to  keep  the  peace  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of 
law,  however  honest,  could  only  mean  that  the  stream  should 
flow  peacefully  as  long  as  no  obstruction  to  its  flow  should  be 
found.  If  perchance  a  rock  should  persist  in  remaining  in  the 
way,  it  must  become  responsible  for  the  noise,  the  rampage 
and  the  destruction  wrought  by  the  obstructed  waters.  This 
was  the  interpretation  which  Mr.  W.  W.  Scranton,  with  his 
watchers,  and  Captain  Ripple,  with  his  company  of  citizens, 
put  upon  these  honest  protestations  of  the  strikers  from  the 
mills  and  mines. 

Captain  Ripple  felt  a  constant  burden  of  anxiety,  fearing  a 
mob  might  be  precipitated  upon  the  city  by  his  company  mis. 


DIVIDED  COUNSELS.  73 

taking  a  peaceful  movement  of  the  laborers  for  a  hostile  in- 
tention. He  worked  night  and  day  to  impress  discipline  and 
self-control  upon  his  men.  He  reported  his  company  to  the 
Mayor,  and  obtained  his  verbal  recognition  of  them  as  special 
police,  on  the  morning  of  the  30th,  and  kept  one  member  on 
watch  at  the  office,  although  the  mayor  thought  there  would 
be  no  need  for  him.  Mr.  Scranton  with  his  trusted  associates, 
went  everywhere,  with  boldness  on  his  part,  and  quiet  wisdom 
on  theirs,  having  an  eye  upon  the  multitude  of  strangers,  and 
a  few  men  who  were  known  to  them  as  dangerous  characters. 
So  the  work  of  drilling  and  watching  went  on,  while  order 
generally  reigned  in  the  city. 

At  eleven  o'clock  on   Monday,  the  30th,  the  committee  of 
the  Brotherhood  met  the  Mayor  at  his   request.      After  an 
earnest  conference,  they  agreed  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  railway 
strikers   at  once,  and   put   up   their   notice   about   noon   as 
follows,  to  wit : 

"A  special  meeting  of  the  railroad  men,  at  Washington  Hall,  this  af- 
ternoon at  one  o'clock  sharp.     By  order  of  Executive  Committee.'' 

The  firemen  and  brakesmen  gathered  at  the  hour  appointed 
in  large  numbers,  and  the  question  was  submitted  to  an  order- 
ly vote,  whether  they  should  return  to  work  at  the  old  wages, 
upon  assurance  that  none  should  be  dismissed  for  his  connec- 
tion with  this  strike.  This  question  was  decided  affirmative- 
ly, with  only  nine  negative  votes,  and  the  men  immediately 
proceeded  in  a  body  to  Superintendent  Hallstead's  office  and 
announced  their  conclusion.  The  Superintendent  received 
them  graciously,  and  gave  them  all  the  assurances  they  asked 
for.  Fifteen  minutes  afterwards  the  smoke  of  the  engines, 
awakened  from  their  dead  sleep  of  eight  days,  began  to  glori- 
fy the  coal-yards ;  and  ten  minutes  past  four  o'clock  p.  m.  the 
first  train  started  on  its  way  for  Northumberland.  Telegram 
orders  were  sent  to  Binghamton  to  start  the  mail  train  for  New 


74  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

York ;  and  so  the  long  silence  of  the  railway  was  broken. 
The  locomotives  began  to  pull  their  great  burdens  up  the 
heavy  grades  in  the  early  evening,  and  puffed  forth  a  music 
which  echoed  as  a  blessed  lullaby  in  the  homes  of  the  people. 

The  relief  was  as  inexpressible  as  it  was  immediate.  Citi- 
zens who  had  remained  at  home  through  the  hot  week  watch- 
ing, devoted  to  their  public  duties,  while  their  families  were 
away  at  the  seashore,  gathered  up  their  gripsacks  ready  to 
take  the  first  train  of  the  morning.  The  telegraph  wires  were 
kept  busy  all  night  with  messages  of  assurance  from  wives  to 
their  husbands,  who  had  been  caught  away  from  home,  and 
had  spent  their  wits  and  patience  in  their  vain  efforts  to  return. 
They  were  told  that  all  was  going  right  again;  that  the  fisher- 
man might  go  on  with  his  fishing,  and  the  bather  with  his 
bathing.  Even  the  Mayor's  advisory  committee  disbanded 
and  went  their  ways — one  to  his  work  and  another  to  the 
pleasures  of  his  summer  vacation. 

But  that  night  a  band  of  thieves  made  a  raid  upon  the 
Stowers'  Packing  House,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city. 
These  robbers  carried  away  at  least  a  ton  of  meat,  and  a  large 
number  of  boxes  of  lemons.  At  the  same  hour  a  field  of  po- 
tatoes, belonging  to  the  Iron  and  Coal  Company,  was  invaded, 
and  the  potatoes  were  entirely  removed.  Thus  it  occurred  to 
the  law-loving  citizens,  as  they  awoke  from  their  first  peaceful 
sleep  on  the  31st  of  July,  to  read  of  such  depredations,  that 
although  the  railway  troubles  might  be  over,  the  strikes  were 
not  ended,  and  the  safety  of  the  city  had  not  been  entirely 
secured. 

Captain  Ripple,  not  yet  satisfied  with  the  legal  status  of  his 
company,  if  violence  should  be  attempted,  consulted  Colonel 
Hitchcock  as  an  attorney,  as  well  as  a  military  adviser,  on  the 
subject.  They  concluded  that  the  mere  verbal  acceptance  of 
the  Citizens'  Corps  as  special  police  might  leave  the  boys  in 
questionable  positions  towards  the  law,  if  the  Mayor  should 


DIVIDED   COUNSELS.  75 

himself  become  intimidated,  or  should  meet  with  fatal  violence. 
They  therefore  went  to  the  Mayor,  and  secured  his  official  sig- 
nature to  a  paper  which  authorized  the  Citizens'  Company,  indi- 
vidually, and  as  a  body,  to  act  in  emergency  as  "Special 
Police  "  under  his  authority. 

Throughout  the  last  day  of  July,  his  honor,  Mayor  Mc- 
Kune,  remained  on  duty,  and  in  consultation  with  a  committee 
of  miners,  seeking  for  a  basis  of  compromise  upon  which  they 
might  end  their  strike.  He  called  to  his  assistance  the  Hon. 
John  Brisbin  of  New  York,  who  that  day  manifested  his 
great  powers,  and  excellent  wisdom.  His  fairness  gave  him 
great  influence  with  the  miners,  and  his  persuasive  powers 
were  irresistible.  Late  in  the  afternoon  he  succeeded  in 
reaching  an  agreement  with  them.  This  committee,  he,  with 
the  Mayor,  accompanied  to  the  Superintendent's  office,  and  in 
the  course  of  an  hour  received  assurances  from  the  headquar- 
ters in  New  York  that  the  proposed  compromise  would  be  ac- 
cepted. The  committee  of  the  miners  cordially  shook  hands 
with  the  Superintendent,  and  assured  the  Mayor,  that  while 
they  could  not  complete  the  arrangement  without  the  consent 
of  the  miners,  whom  they  represented,  they  should  call  a  meet- 
ing, as  soon  as  it  could  be  done  with  safety,  and  demand  ac- 
tion. They  had  no  doubt  of  a  favorable  answer,  as  the  way 
for  the  redressing  of  their  grievances  was  provided  in  their 
basis.  All  that  had  been  asked  for  had  been  granted,  except 
the  increase  of  wages,  which  all  knew  could  not  be  granted. 
So  they  went  their  way  apparently  sincere  and  happy,  and  the 
Mayor  congratulated  himself  and  his  friends  on  his  vision  of 
the  early  ending  of  the  miners'  strike. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Scranton's  manly  letter  to  the  workers  of 
the  mills,  who  had  yielded  only  to  the  pressure,  and  ceased 
work,  as  they  claimed,  contrary  to  their  judgment  and  wishes, 
had  produced  its  fruits.  The  assurance  of  protection  from 
him  they  could  trust,  and  at  noon  on  the  31st,  they  fired  up 


76  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

some  of  the  furnaces  and  a  number  of  the  men  began  work. 
A  kw  also  returned  to  the  railway  shops,  and  the  signs  of  a 
general  resumption  multiplied  on  all  sides.  During  the 
afternoon  and  evening  there  was  a  strange  and  ominous  van- 
ishing of  the  crowds  and  loiterers  that  for  a  week  had  filled 
the  streets.  The  unknown  population  which  for  many  days 
had  walked  about  in  an  aimless  way,  and  had  looked  through 
the  stores  and  places  of  business,  seemed  to  have  retired, 
and  indeed  to  have  quite  deserted  the  city.  Save  for  the 
continuance  of  the  Mayor  at  his  office,, with  his  few  police- 
men on  duty,  and  the  young  men  on  watch  at  the  com- 
pany's store,  the  whole  city  seemed  to  have  regained  its  con- 
fidence and  retired  to  rest. 

The  scattered  citizens  in  the  wilderness,  and  at  the  seashore, 
assured  by  the  report  of  the  signs  of  resumption,  and  of  rapid- 
ly returning  peace,  gave  themselves  up  to  the  full  enjoyment 
of  their  midsummer  vacation.  The  business  men  of  New 
York,  whose  interests  were  at  Scranton,  assured  by  President 
Thomas  Dickson  and  his  associates  that  the  strike  had  virtu- 
ally ended,  felt  no  further  concern.  The  night  passed  in  the 
city  with  the  profoundest  quiet  in  the  streets,  and  peace  in  the 
homes  of  the  people ;  all  glorihed  by  the  light  of  a  full  orbed 
moon. 


THE   MOB  AND   ITS  TRUE   MASTER  77 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  MOB  AND  ITS  TRUE  MASTER. 

"  There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

AUGUST    I,    1877. 

THE  1st  day  of  August  dawned  full  of  hope  and  auguries 
of  peace.  It  was  indeed  learned  that  the  running  of 
trains  on  the  Lackawanna  and  Bloomsburg  Division  had  been 
interrupted  ;  but  the  blockade  had  been  made  by  men  thirty  or 
forty  miles  away,  who  were  supposed  to  find  no  sympathy 
from  the  workmen  of  the  Lackawanna  Valley.  Besides,  the 
trains  to  the  north  and  south  were  running  on  schedule  time; 
and  except  for  a  few  stones  cast  at  them  outside  of  the  city, 
there  were  no  indications  from  the  strikers  of  a  discontent  with 
the  surrender  of  the  railway  operatives. 

The  railway  officials  from  abroad,  and  their  counsellors  in 
the  city,  well  satisfied  with  the  success  of  their  mission,  left  in 
the  early  morning  train.  The  Mayor  and  the  Hon.  John 
Brisbin  openly  spread  the  news  of  the  end  of  the 
"miners'  and  laborers'  strike,"  as  already  in  sight;  and  the 
business  houses  all  opened  their  doors,  and  the  streets  hung 
out  their  banners  of  life. 

Captain  Ripple  drew  a  long  breath  as  he  looked  down  the 
business  avenues  and  caught  glimpses  of  his  brave  young  men 
of  the  Citizens'  Company,  rushing  here  and  there  to  gather 
up  the  thread  of  business,  which  had  been  so  suddenly  dropped 
a  week  before  in  order  to  provide  for  the  public  safety.     For 


78  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

a  whole  week  he  had  not  darkened  the  door  of  his  office,  nor 
heard  a  word  of  its  needs  and  responsibilities.  Although  that 
office  was  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  headquarters  of  his  com- 
pany, which  had  not  yet  felt  itself  justified  in  disbanding,  he 
concluded  himself  free  to  go  to  his  neglected  trust.  Hence, 
leaving  strict  orders  to  the  young  men  having  charge  of  the 
signal-bell,  he  went  to  the  Connell  mines,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
became  wholly  absorbed  in  the  work  of  his  office.  He  knew 
his  Lieutenants  were  at  hand,  and  trusted  his  sharp  ears  to 
catch  the  call  of  the  signal  if  trouble  should  arise. 

Mr.  Scranton,  with  his  associates,  Charles  F.  Mattes,  Wm.  W. 
Manness,  Charles  F.  Manness,  Carl  W.  McKinney  and  Theo- 
dore G.  Wolf,  having  already  persuaded  a  number  of  their 
workmen  to  return  to  the  mills,  were  busy  setting  things  in 
order,  with  the  conviction,  that  by  another  day  the  whole  body 
of  their  workmen  would  return.  A  number  of  those  employed 
in  the  machine  shops,  the  foundries,  the  saw-mill,  and  the  blast 
furnaces,  had  already  reported  for  duty  and  begun  their  work. 
The  citizens  generally,  feeling  a  relief  from  the  strain  of  appre- 
hension, went  to  their  places  of  business  fused  with  new  energy 
from  the  strange  experiences  of  the  week  just  passed.  A 
cloudless  sun  poured  down  his  effulgence  upon  the  new  life  of 
the  city,  and  the  omens  of  peace  multiplied  on  all  sides.  The 
conviction  seemed  general  that  the  dangers  of  the  strike  were 
all  passed.  Mr.  Scranton,  however,  who  had  slept  only  by 
snatches  since  the  strike  began,  relaxed  none  of  his  vigilance 
for  all  these  promises  of  resumption.  He  had  no  faith  in 
compromises  with  strikers ;  and  it  was  supposed  that  he  would 
rather  have  preferred  a  trial  of  strength  with  the  law-breakers, 
if  troops,  which  could  be  relied  upon,  had  been  furnished  by 
the  State.  He  did  not  believe  the  end  of  the  miners'  strike 
could,  or  ought  to  be  expected,  without  a  show  of  power  on 
the  part  of  the  Companies.  Hence  while  the  city  became  jubi- 
lant over  the  news  spread  by  the  Mayor,  and  railway  officials, 


THE  MOB  AND   ITS  TRUE  MASTER.  79 

who  had  closed  their  conference  and  gone ;  he  sat  down  and 
wrote  a  letter  to  President  Hatfield,  in  New  York,  in  which  he 
expressed  his  convictions  with  sharpness  and  emphasis. 
Among  other  things,  he  wrote  on  the  evening  of  July  31st  as 
follows :  "  I  trust  when  the  troops  come, — if  they  ever  get 
here, — that  we  may  have  a  conflict,  in  which  the  mob  shall  be 
completely  worsted.  In  no  other  way  will  the  thing  end  with 
any  security  for  property  here  in  the  future.  Our  Iron  Com- 
pany foremen  have  acted  well  throughout,  and  I  am  proud  of 
them.  //  was  a  ticklish  time,  and  it  is  not  yet  over  in  my 
opinion."  So  thought  the  General  Manager  of  the  L.  I.  &  C. 
Company  on  the  night  when  the  great  body  of  citizens  had 
retired  in  peace,  believing  another  day  would  end  the  troubles 
and  set  the  suspended  industries  in  motion.  With  his  courage 
and  convictions  he  proposed  to  keep  his  powder  dry.  The 
young  men  of  the  Citizens'  Corps  generally  agreed  with  him, 
and  made  their  detail  for  guard  duty  as  full  as  on  any  night 
since  the  strike  began ;  and  this  detail  proved  just  as  watchful 
as  though  no  rumors  of  the  end  of  the  strikes  had  come  to 
them. 

About  a  mile  to  the  south-east  of  the  line  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  railway  shops,  and  almost  in  a  direct 
line  with  the  extension  of  Madison  Avenue,  there  rises  a  small 
conical  hill,  near  to  the  margin  of  the  Lackawanna  river.  The 
slope  of  the  ground  from  this  hill,  both  towards  the  city  and 
the  river,  was  gentle  and  regular.  The  whole  hill,  at  that 
time,  was  surrounded  by  an  open  grassy  level,  of  from  ten  to 
twenty  acres.  A  hundred  yards,  or  less,  to  the  north  of  it 
stood  the  first  silk  factory  erected  in  the  city  ;  and  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  to  the  west  was  the  breaker  of  the  Connell  mines,  with 
its  "Patch"  of  surrounding  buildings,  occupied  chiefly  by  the 
miners  and  laborers  connected  with  these  mines.  The  whole 
space  between  this  hill  and  the  Iron  Mills  and  machine  shops 
built  along  the  Roaring  Brook,  was  open  and  visible  from  the 


80  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

second  floors  of  most  of  the  houses  on  the  south  side  of  Lacka- 
wanna Avenue.  Indeed  there  was  scarcely  a  point  along  the 
railway  from  the  Company's  Store  to  the  railway  Station  where 
an  observer  could  not  have  a  view  of  this  open  space,  with  its 
beautiful  little  hill. 

In  the  morning,  about  eight  o'clock,  on  the  first  day  of  Au- 
gust men  became  visible,  coming  from  the  south,  the  east  and 
the  west,  on  converging  lines,  whose  point  of  intersection  was 
somewhere  in  this  open  space.  They  came  singly,  in  pairs 
and  in  squads.  They  came  in  crowds  of.  fifty,  and  a  hundred, 
along  all  the  paths  across  the  woods  and  meadows.  Be- 
fore nine  o'clock  the  little  hill  was  covered,  and  from  the  rail- 
way, appeared  black  with  people.  Merchants  and  professional 
men  on  the  south  side  of  the  avenue  early  had  their  attention 
directed  to  this  remarkable  gathering.  They  watched,  sur- 
mised and  wondered.  A  crowd  of  interested  spectators  gath- 
ered upon  the  railway  embankment;  and  silent  observation 
with  field  glasses  went  on  from  the  upper  stories  of  most  ot 
the  houses,  on  the  south  side  of  Lackawanna  Avenue.  The 
multitude  gathered  was  variously  estimated  at  from  three  to 
eight  thousand  people ;  who  seemed  to  be  crowding  together  in 
consultation,  until  the  whole  hill  appeared  as  if  shingled  over 
with  a  black  mass  of  fused  humanity.  The  watchers  stated, 
that  through  their  field  glasses,  the  crowd  seemed  to  be  or- 
derly, and  yet  swayed  by  some  intense  excitement. 

Whether  this  crowd  was  organized  by  its  leaders,  and  a 
chairman  appointed,  does  not  clearly  appear,  as  all  who  were 
afterwards  charged  with  presiding  denied  it.  How  the  con- 
sultations or  deliberations  of  the  mass  meeting  began  cannot 
be  now  determined,  but  they  continued  for  about  the  space  of 
two  hours.  What  were  the  particular  subjects  of  discussion 
can  never  now  be  positively  known.  A  reporter  of  one  of 
the  papers  of  the  city  appeared  among  them,  supposing  it  to 
be  an  orderly  meeting,  but  as  soon  as  he  was  known  to  be  a 


THE   MOB  AND   ITS  TRUE  MASTER.  81 

reporter,  he  was  hustled  and  insulted,  and  escaped  with  a  few 
bruises,  glad  to  find  a  calmer  atmosphere  in  which  to  recover 
his  breath  without  any  broken  bones. 

The  special  grievance  which  called  the  meeting  of  these 
workmen  and  tramps,  would  seem  to  have  been  the  waning 
strength  of  the  strike.  The  open  yielding  of  the  engineers  and 
stokers,  and  the  evident  signs  of  the  resumption  of  work  at  the 
mills  and  shops,  could  not  be  misunderstood.  Doubtless  the 
rumors  of  the  proposal  of  the  miners'  committee  to  resume 
work  on  the  terms  secured  from  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
and  Western  Company,  through  Mr.  Brisbin  and  the  Mayor, 
had  much  to  do  in  inaugurating  this  council ;  and  the  promis- 
cuous gathering  of  this  nondescript  mass  meeting.  It  would 
seem  to  have  been  called  by  none  of  the  respectable  "  commit- 
tees "  of  either  the  miners  or  workers  in  the  mills.  From  all 
that  can  be  learned  of  either  the  origin  or  intentions  of  the 
meeting,  it  is  evident  that  very  few,  if  any,  of  the  respectable 
miners  of  Hyde  Park  had  anything  to  do  with  either  its  coun- 
sels or* its  ultimate  intentions.  The  respectable  committee 
with  whom  the  mayor  had  treated,  publicly  disavowed  any 
knowledge  or  complicity  with  it.  They  denied  that  it  was  even 
a  meeting  of  miners.  If  the  meeting  which  they  had  promised 
had  been  called  by  them,  they  said,  it  would  have  been  called 
at  "  the  Round  Woods,"  where  they,  by  the  agreement  of  the 
miners,  held  all  their  meetings.  It  is,  perhaps,  due  to  the 
Miners'  Association  to  record  the  fact,  that  from  the  very  be- 
ginning they  disowned  all  affiliation  with  the  lawless  element^ 
which  their  strike  seemed  to  gather  about  them.  The  only  fact 
which  at  all  casts  a  shadow  upon  this  organization  is,  that  they 
appointed  a  committee  to  prosecute  those  who  fired  upon  the 
mob  some  days  afterwards.  Yet  this  might  have  grown  en- 
tirely out  of  the  passions  and  suspicions  gendered  by  the  fury 
enkindled  after  the  fatal  collision  of  the  mob  with  the  city's 
defenders. 
6 


52  A   CITY'S   DANGER   AND    DEFENSE. 

The  grievance  which  seemed  to  have  caused  the  greatest 
passion  was  the  returning  to  work  of  the  men  who  had  never 
favored  the  strike,  and  who  had  yielded  to  it  only  because  they 
deemed  it  necessary  to  their  safety.  This  intimidation  reached 
out  to  all  kinds  of  labor,  and  laborers,  connected  with  the  great 
companies.  Even  the  men  engaged  in  the  effort  to  save  the  hay 
cut  on  the  fields  of  the  Iron  and  Coal  Company  had  been 
treated  with  violence  and  driven  from  their  work  three  days 
before.  The  teamsters  and  farm  laborers  were  ordered  to 
cease  all  work  until  the  strike  should  end4  The  return  of  the 
braver  of  these  men  to  the  mills,  under  assurance  from  Mr. 
Scranton  of  protection,  seemed  to  exasperate  the'  more 
ignorant  and  give  the  power  of  passion  into  the  hands  of  the 
vicious.  These  workmen,  who  had  returned  to  their  places, 
were  called  "black-legs"  and  "scallawags;"  and  were  pelted, 
at  long  range,  with  the  crooked  rhetoric  of  the  speakers  who 
addressed  the  vast  crowd  near  the  silk-factory.  For  fully 
two  hours  the  firing  up  of  this  great  engine  of  lawless  vio- 
lence in  the  crowd  went  on.  For  two  whole  hours,  or  more, 
the  more  sensible  and  conservative  men,  who  found  themselves 
in  these  counsels,  withstood  the  dangerous  proposals.  Thus 
passion  swayed  the  crowd  back  and  forth,  as  the  increasing 
wind  passes  over  the  wheat  to  bend  and  sway  it  before  the 
breaking  of  the  storm. 

At  last  some  miscreant,  with  all  the  marks  of  the  premedi- 
tative  scoundrel,  wise  to  discern  his  opportunity,  arose  and 
read  a  forged  letter.  To  whom  this  letter  might  be  addressed 
no  one  waited  to  inquire;  it  was  said  to  be  signed  with  the 
name  of  W.  W.  Scranton.  This  letter,  it  is  enough  to  say, 
was  simply  a  piece  of  vulgar  brutality,  lacking  every  charac- 
teristic of  the  purported  author,  unless,  perchance,  its  spirit  of 
boldness  and  open  defiance.  It  asserted,  among  other  absurd- 
ities, that  he  intended  to  bring  the  wages  of  the  workingmen 
down  to  thirty- five  cents  a  day,  and  to  make  them  work  if  it 


THE   MOB  AND   ITS   TRUE  MASTER.  83 

put  his  body  under  a  culm  pile.  It  contained  all  the  bluster 
of  the  stupid  coward,  which  any  workman  of  the  valley  might 
readily  have  known  could  not  have  come  from  such  a  man  as 
Mr.  Scranton  was  known  to  be. 

But  passion  had  risen  to  the  heat  that  blinds,  and  the  bar- 
rier of  the  thinking  men  was  at  once  overwhelmed.  The 
storm  which  had  been  gathering  for  more  than  two  hours 
burst  at  once,  with  a  violence  that  threatened  the  sweeping  of 
the  whole  city  with  destruction.  A  shout  was  raised :  "  Go 
for  the  shops  "  and  "  clean  out  the  black-legs  ;"  and  immedi- 
ately the  crowd  began  to  move.  Some,  indeed,  began  to 
separate  and  to  scatter;  but  the  great  mass  moved  in  two 
dense  streams,  like  the  lava  from  a  volcanic  eruption.  One 
stream  swept  on  towards  the  blast-furnaces  of  the  Lacka- 
wanna Iron  and  Coal  Company,  on  Roaring  Brook;  and  the 
other  towards  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  shops, 
on  Washington  Avenue.  It  was  at  once  revealed,  through 
the  telescopes  of  the  watchers  all  along  the  avenue,  that  these 
crowds  were  armed  with  clubs,  which  were  shaken  in  the  fury 
of  violence.  It  was  afterwards  learned  that  a  store  down  the 
valley  had  been  robbed  by  men  on  their  way  to  this  meeting, 
showing  that,  at  least,  some  of  them  had  come  prepared  for 
mischief. 

Meanwhile  the  Mayor,  who  early  learned  of  the  gathering 
crowd  near  the  silk-mill,  gave  himself  no  anxiety,  supposing  it 
to  be  simply  a  meeting  of  the  miners,  which  their  accredited 
committee  had  promised  to  call  at  the  earliest  safe  oppor- 
tunity, to  confirm  the  agreement  they  had  made  with  the 
railway  authorities.  To  all  excited  fears  and  reported  signs 
of  violence  expressed  by  the  people,  he  made  the  confident 
answer :  "  There  can  be  no  cause  for  apprehension,  gentle- 
men ;  that  meeting,  I  doubt  not,  is  held  by  order  of  the  miners' 
committee,  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  its  orderly  intentions." 
About   10  o'clock  Arthur  C.  Logan,  a  law  student,  having 


84  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND    DEFENSE. 

gone  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  mass  meeting,  called  by 
business,  when  near  enough  to  see  the  excitement  of  the  crowd, 
was  afraid  to  go  farther.  Returning  speedily,  he  reported  to  the 
mayor  the  danger  which  he  supposed  was  then  to  be  appre- 
hended. He  was  ordered  by  the  mayor  to  take  his  place  as  a 
signal  man  appointed  by  his  company,  and  wait  near  the  bell  for 
the  orders  of  his  officers  to  sound  the  alarm  agreed  upon,  to  call 
his  company  together.  He  immediately  awoke  his  brother, 
who,  with  himself,  had  been  on  watch  all  night,  and  proceeded 
to  obey  the  Mayor's  directions.  But  the  report  of  the  size, 
and  strange  movements  of  the  crowd,  a  full  mile  away,  rapidly 
spread  along  the  business  avenues  and  to  the  homes  of  the 
city.  A  feeling  of  dread  and  uneasiness,  as  well  as  of  excited 
curiosity,  gathered  the  people  along  the  railway  embankment, 
and  led  business  men  hurriedly  to  lock  their  safes,  close  their 
doors,  and  look  about  them  for  refuge  from  danger. 

Melvin  I.  Corbett,  at  that  time  a  clerk  in  the  D.  L.  &  W. 
coal  department,  having  been  stationed  by  Mr.  Storrs  in  the 
observatory  of  the  station,  with  a  field-glass,  to  watch  for 
the  movement  of  the  miners,  reported  a  gathering  of  men 
near  the  "  round  woods,"  which  had  suddenly  broken  up  and 
gone  over  to  the  crowd  near  the  silk-mill.  Also  that  there 
were  signs  of  immense  excitement.  He  was  sent  at  once  to 
the  mayor  with  a  warning,  from  Mr.  Storrs,  of  danger  to  be 
apprehended.  He  made  his  report  and  was  directed  by  the 
mayor  to  go  to  the  company's  store;  where,  he  said,  he  should 
order  the  citizens'  police  to  assemble.  Corbett,  arming  him- 
self with  a  rifle  which  belonged  to  the  D.  L.  &  W.  Company, 
reported  for  duty  as  the  mayor  directed,  and  bravely  fulfilled 
his  duty  in  the  firing  squad  before  returning  to  his  employer. 

The  sudden  breaking  up  of  the  mass  meeting  also  startled 
Mr.  Kingsbury,  at  the  company's  store,  where  its  movements 
were  plainly  visible  and  had  been  carefully  watched  ;  and  about 
the  time  the  young  men  had  taken  their  position  as  directed 


THE  MOB  AND   ITS  TRUE  MASTER.  85 

by  the  mayor,  he  sent  a  request  to  them,  to  sound  the  alarm 
and  call  the  "  Citizens'  Corps "  together.  These  young 
men  having  strict  orders  to  strike  the  alarm  only  upon  order 
of  an  officer  of  the  corps,  declined  to  accede  to  Mr.  Kings- 
bury's request.  One  of  them  took  his  place,  as  ordered,  to 
watch  at  the  church  gate,  while  the  other  ran  down  the 
avenue  searching  for  an  officer  from  whom  an  order  might 
be  had  to  strike  the  signal.  He  soon  learned  that  Captain 
Ripple  was  at  his  office  and  could  not  be  reached.  He  went 
to  the  office  of  Lieutenant  Merriam,  but  could  not  find  him ; 
then  to  that  of  Second  Lieutenant  Brown,  and  was  equally 
unsuccessful.  Running  to  the  railway  he  saw  the  crowd 
coming  with  fury.  He  again  ran  along  the  avenue,  notifying 
such  members  of  the  company  as  he  could  find,  to  report  at 
the  headquarters  on  double  quick.  At  the  same  time,  as  it  was 
afterwards  learned,  Lieutenant  Merriam  had  passed  in  through 
the  back  way  into  the  parsonage  in  search  for  these  young 
men  to  give  them  the  orders  to  strike  the  bell.  He  passed 
through  every  room  in  the  house,  knowing  that  the  young 
men  had  been  on  watch  the  night  before,  and  supposing  he 
would  find  them  in  bed.  He  found  no  one  in  the  house, 
which  he  seems  to  have  continued  searching  until  the  mob 
had  swept  into  the  Avenue,  and  the  force  to  meet  it  was  al- 
ready on  the  march.  The  crowd  of  excited  spectators  in- 
creased on  the  streets,  and  on  the  railway,  and  teams  with 
wagons  and  carriages  blocked  the  intersection  of  the  avenues. 
Colonel  Hitchcock,  with  the  eye  of  a  veteran,  had  watched  the 
coming  crowd  until  satisfied  of  its  violent  intentions,  then 
hurried  to  the  Mayor,  and  obtaining  his  consent  to  call  the 
special  police  together  at  the  company's  store  to  await  orders ; 
he  immediately  began  giving  the  same  notice  to  such  mem- 
bers of  the  citizens'  company  as  he  could  find,  that  young 
Logan  had  begun  to  circulate  before  him. 

Mr.  Scranton  having  received  notice  when  at  the  First  Na- 


86  A  CITY'S  DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

tional  Bank,  that  the  mob  was   moving  towards  the  mills,  and 
was  already  driving  workmen  from  the  shops,  drove  furiously 
to  the  store ;  and,  in  the  apparent  absence  of  all  the  officers  of 
the  gathering  citizens'  corps,  with  the  impulse  and  energy  of 
a  leader,  where  there  is  danger,  he  sent  an  order  to  the  signal 
men  on  duty  to  sound  the  alarm,  and  called  upon  the  young 
men  who  were  on  the  second  floor  to  fall  into  line  with  their 
guns.     At  that  moment,  the  mob  having  driven  the  workmen 
from  the  foundry,  was  busy  with  the  same  bloody  work  at  the 
grist-mill,  and  blast  furnaces,  only  a  few  rods  away.     Shortly 
after  Mr.  Scranton's  order  to  strike  the  signal  came  to  hand, 
Lieutenant  Brown  was  discovered  by  the  elder  of  the  signal 
men  on  the  avenue  near  the  business  house  of  Doud  Bros. 
Despairing  of  success  in  his  search  for  the  officer  to  obtain 
permission  to  strike  the  bell,  the  young  man  had  started  to 
join  the  little  company  already  in   the  street  in   front  of  the 
company's  store,  leaving  his  brother  to  strike  the  bell  if  legiti- 
mate orders  should  come.     Brown  stopped  him,  and  sent  him 
back  with  the  emphatic  order  to  stand  in  front  of  the  church- 
gate  to  await  orders,  and  by  no  means  to  strike  the  bell  until 
he  should  receive  the  signal    from  him.      He   immediately 
obeyed ;  so  these  young  men,  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement, 
took  their  positions  to  watch  and  wait,  the  one  beside  the  bell 
rope,  with  drawn  pistol  covering  the  space  where  his  brother 
waited,  and   the    other    at   the  church-gate  in  the  midst  of 
the  angry  crowd. 

The  little  band  of  young  men  momentarily  increased ; 
each  rushing  to  where  he  had  left  his  gun,  either  on  the  sec- 
ond or  third  floor  of  the  building.  Mr.  Scranton  made  a 
characteristic  speech  to  those  gathered  on  the  second  floor, 
seeking  to  infuse  them  with  his  own  courage  and  determina- 
tion. He  exhorted  them  to  shoot  low,  and  to  shoot  to  kill  if 
they  shot  at  all.  He  told  them  where  to  aim  and  begged  them 
to  stand  with  him  to  the  end,  fearing  nothing.     The  expecta- 


THE  MOB  AND   ITS   TRUE   MASTER.  87 

tion  then  was  that  the  mob  would  attack  the  store,  as  soon 
as  they  had  cleared  out  the  blast  furnace,  so  near  at  hand. 
Mr.  Scranton  had  not  discerned  Jhe  fact  that  there  were  two 
streams  of  this  flux  of  lawless  humanity.  The  onset  upon 
his  company's  works  was  plainly  discernible  from  the  windows 
of  the  store,  and  he  proposed  to  go  out,  without  orders; 
and  meet  the  mob  just  where  he  saw  it  doing  its  bloody 
work,  and  not  allow  it  to  reach  the  store.  He  asked  the 
young  man  to  follow  him  at  once  to  the  attack.  But  Colonel 
Hitchcock  having  arrived  with  the  order  of  the  mayor  to 
await  his  orders,  took  position  against  Scranton's  proposition 
as  doubly  dangerous,  because  going  without  legal  authority 
they  would  be  on  the  same  footing  with  the  mob,  and  be 
liable  to  prosecution  as  rioters.  While  this  matter  was  be- 
ing discussed  and  the  company  hesitating,  a  member  of  the 
mayor's  police  arrived,  and  announced  the  request  of  his 
honor  to  have  the  company  report,  armed  for  duty  as  special 
police,  at  his  office  without  delay,  The  young  men  then  fell 
immediately  into  line  with  their  guns. 

Meanwhile  Daniel  Bartholomew,  the  First  Sergeant  of  the 
Citizens'  Corps,  had  been  on  watch  on  top  of  the  building  for 
more  than  an  hour.  When  he  saw  the  lines  of  the  dispersion 
of  the  great  crowd,  near  the  silk-mill,  he  at  once  apprehended 
the  design  of  the  mob ;  and  he  came  down  and  began  to  form 
the  members  of  the  Citizens'  Corps  in  line  on  the  third  floor, 
with  such  others  as  came  to  that  floor  for  their  guns.  His 
intention  was  simply  to  have  the  men  ready  for  action  as  soon 
as  a  line  officer  should  arrive  to  take  the  command.  He  was 
entirely  ignorant  of  what  Mr.  Scranton  was  doing  on  the 
floor  below.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the  policemen  from  the 
Mayor  with  the  request  to  bring  the  men  to  his  office,  he 
marched  his  squad  down  stairs  and  surprised  Scranton,  who 
supposed  himself  alone  with  the  men,  who  had  placed  them- 
selves under  arms.     He  approached  the  sergeant,  with  whom 


88  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

he  had  no  personal  acquaintance,  and  asked  him  who  he 
might  be,  and  what  he  proposed  to  do.  Bartholomew  an- 
swered that  he  was  the  highest  officer  of  the  Citizens'  Corps 
that  had  yet  appeared  for  duty ;  and  that  he  proposed  to  com- 
mand the  company  until  his  superior  officer  should  arrive. 
While  this  parley  was  proceeding,  Deputy  Sheriff  Bortree,  a 
veteran  of  well  known  courage  and  experience,  came  to  Mr. 
Scranton  and  said  to  him:  "The  danger  to  this  company  is 
going  to  be  found  at  the  two  ends  of  the  column  on  the 
march.  Mr.  Scranton,  if  you  will  take  one  end  I  will  take  the 
other,  and  we  can  hold  the  boys  steady.  You  can  take  choice 
ot  the  ends."  Scranton,  without  further  words,  took  his  place, 
alone,  at  the  head  of  the  column.  Bortree  selected  Carl  W.  Mc- 
Kinney,  whose  courage  was  well  known  in  the  city,  and  with 
him  closed  the  line  for  the  protection  of  the  rear.  Thus  Sergeant 
Bartholomew,  being  the  ranking  officer  of  the  Citizens'  Corps, 
took  command  of  this  mixed  company,  so  hastily  called  into 
line.  There  were  in  this  column  of  twos,  all  told,  just  fifty 
young  men.  Twenty-four  of  them  were  enrolled  members  of 
"the  Citizens' Corps;"  recognized  by  the  Mayor  as  special 
police,  in  the  paper  given  to  Captain  Ripple.  Twenty-five 
were  employees  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company, 
and  one  man  had  no  connection  with  either  organization. 
Four  of  those  who  belonged  to,  and  drilled  with,  the  ft  Citizens' 
Corps  "  were  also  in  the  service  of  the  Iron  and  Coal  Com- 
pany. 

They  were  all  armed  with  breech-loading  rifles,  a  part  of 
which  belonged  to  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company, 
and  a  part  to  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Rail- 
road Company.  Bartholomew  faced  the  column  down  Lacka- 
wanna Avenue,  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  and  gave  the  order 
— "  March  !  "  There  had  been  no  time  for  adjusting  posi- 
tions, or  deciding  questions  of  precedence,  or  authority.  Just 
as  the  column  began  to   move  William  W.  Paterson,  who  had 


THE   MOB  AND   ITS   TRUE   MASTER.  89 

been  on  watch  all  night,  awoke  from  his  doze  and  came  run- 
ning, and  having  inspected  the  line  its  whole  length,  rushed  to 
the  front  and  took  his  position  beside  Scranton  with  the  re- 
mark that  the  rear  was  all  right,  with  Bortree  and  McKinney 
to  take  care  of  it.  In  double  file,  with  regular  step,  these 
brave  young  men  marched  down  through  the  middle  of  the 
street,  towards  the  Mayor's  office,  followed  by  a  portion  of  the 
mob  that  had  come  from  the  foundry  and  blast-furnaces.  One 
of  these  lawless  men,  on  mischief  bent,  more  reckless  than  his 
fellows,  carried  a  three-barreled  pistol  of  antique  pattern, 
which  he  fired  three  times  at  Bortree,  who  marched  with  his 
back  to  his  comrades  and  his  face  to  the  foe.  But  the  shots 
were  all  at  too  great  a  distance  to  do  execution,  and  Colonel 
Hitchcock,  acting  as  file  closer,  twice  prevented  Bortree  from 
replying  to  the  madman  with  his  deadly  rifle.  Bortree  had 
been  through  twenty  battles,  perhaps,  and  had  never  been 
known  to  waste  much  ammunition ;  or  lose  his  courage  in 
front  of  the  muzzle  of  guns,  either  great  or  small. 

This  column  was  plainly  in  view,  and  ready  to  march,  when 
Lieut.  Brown  ordered  his  signal  man  not  to  strike  the  alarm 
until  he  should  give  the  sign.  Thus  the  hastily  gathered  com- 
pany marched  down  the  street,  into  which  the  mob  had  begun 
to  pour  from  the  shops  below.  Each  man  with  his  trusty  rifle 
had  as  many  rounds  of  fixed  ammunition  as  he  saw  fit  to  pro- 
vide himself  with,  when  he  seized  his  gun.  With  some  of  them 
this  amount  would  seem  to  have  been  measured  by  the  num- 
ber and  capacity  of  their  pockets. 

It  is  evident  that  the  majority  of  the  young  men  expected 
no  bloody  encounter.  They  doubtless  supposed  the  appear- 
ance of  the  squad,  so  well  armed  and  under  the  Mayor's  or- 
ders, would  stop  the  movement  of  the  mob,  and  disperse  the 
lawless  crowd,  without  further  violence.  One  young  man  in 
the  ranks  marched  with  marked  military  step,  a  stub  pipe  in 
his  mouth,  and  his  small  hat  cocked  upon  the  side  of  his  head. 


90  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

For  at  least  half  the  way  down  he  was  absorbed  with  the  con- 
viction that  the  force  of  soldierly  bearing  was  all  that  could  be 
required,  while  along  side  of  him  marched  afriend  with  uncer- 
tain limbs,  and  bloodless  face,  weighed  down  with  cartridges, 
and  convictions  of  a  coming  war.  These  two  may  be  taken  as 
a  type  of  all  that  were  in  the  ranks. 

The  whole  formation  had  been  so  rapid  that  no  attempt  had 
been  made  to  count  off  the  company  and  prepare  it  for  mili- 
tary movement,  or  manoeuvre.  In  double  file  these  young  men 
marched  down  the  avenue  with  the  sergeant,  gun  in  hand,  in 
command,  and  sixth  sergeant  F.  L.  Hitchcock,  at  his  request, 
acting  as  file  closer  and  general  lieutenant,  both  of  whom  were 
worthy  veterans  of  the  war.  The  names  of  these  young  men 
— a  fragment  of  the  legally  recognized  "  Citizens'  Corps  " — 
hastily  gathered  and  united  with  Mr.  Scranton's  force  of  such 
employees  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company  as  were 
about  the  store  at  the  time,  who  started  to  rescue  the  Mayor, 
and  the  City,  from  the  hands  of  the  thousands  who  were  al- 
ready busy  with  their  bloody  work  in  the  mills  and  shops,  were 
as  follows:  Daniel  Bartholomew,  first  sergeant  in  command, 
Frederick  L.  Hitchcock,  sixth  sergeant,  acting  file  closer, 
William  Walter  Scranton,  James  A.  Linen,  William  W. 
Paterson,  William  F.  Kiesel,  Samuel  H.  Stevens,  George  F. 
Barnard,  Charles  E.  Chittenden,  John  C.  Highriter,  Edward 

C.  Mattes,  John  O.  Stanton,  Wm.  D.  Manness,  C.  S.  Burr,  F. 
Franschild,  William  Ringler,  John  Heinecke,  John  B.  Cust, 
Carl  W.  McKinney,  Lewis  C.  Bortree,  Wharton  Dickinson,  M. 

D.  Smith,  Denning  R.  Haight,  John  Hoffman,  George  S. 
Throop,  J.  C.  Highfield,  William  K.  Logan,  George  H.  Ives, 
George  H.  Maddocks,  J.  G.  Leyshon,  Charles  H.  Lindsay, 
Edward  H.  Lynde,  H.  C.  Van  Bergen,  H.  V.  D.  Roney,  C.  K. 
Swift,  H.  R.  Madison,  William  Anderson,  Edward  J.  Dimmick, 
Wm.  H.  Storrs,  Edw.  L.  Fuller,  Wm.  McK.  Miller,  Curtis  W. 
Doud,  M.  G.  Moore,  F.  H.  Wehrum,  Rudolph  Bensley,  Melvin 


THE  MOB  AND   ITS  TRUE   MASTER.  91 

I.  Corbett,  Enos  T.  Hall,  Richard  O.  Manness,  Arja  Williams 
and  William  B.  Henwood. 

These  young  men  were  at  the  time,  and  always  have  been, 
recognized  as  deserving  of  all  honor,  for  the  promptness  and 
courage  with  which  they  started  upon  their  patriotic  and  dan- 
gerous enterprise,  as  well  as  for  the  efficiency  and  bravery  with 
which  they  carried  it  through.  But  after  events  demonstrated 
the  fact,  that  if  the  alarm  signal  had  been  sounded,  even  at  the 
time  Mr.  Scranton  requested  to  have  it  done,  the  greater  part 
of  the  "  Citizens'  Company  "  would  have  marched  with  them, 
and  been  the  rightful  sharers  of  their  honors  and  work.  Pos- 
sibly, too,  the  blood  shed  might  have  been  prevented  by  the 
appearance  of  a  so  much  larger  military  force  prepared  to  en- 
force law  and  order. 

Meanwhile  his  Honor,  Mayor  McKune,  after  issuing  his 
orders  consecutively  to  young  Logan  and  to  Corbett,  and  after 
his  hasty  interview  with  Col.  Hitchcock,  in  which  he  consented 
to  have  the  special  police  called  together  to  await  orders  at  the 
Company  store;  although  entirely  persuaded  there  was  no 
danger  to  be  apprehended  from  any  evil  intention  on  the  part 
of  the  mass  of  men,  said  to  be  approaching  the  city;  started  up 
the  street  with  a  single  policeman  to  investigate  for  himself. 
He  stopped  at  the  office  of  the  Hon.  John  Handley,  at  that 
time  the  Additional  Law  Judge  of  Luzerne  County,  and  asked 
him  to  accompany  him  to  meet  the  crowd  already  approaching 
the  shops.  He  was  surprised  to  hear  the  Judge  decline,  with 
the  emphatic  declaration  of  his  belief  that  it  would  be  at  the 
risk  of  the  Mayor's  life  if  he  should  attempt  such  an  exposure. 
After  vainly  trying  to  convince  the  Judge,  that,  as  a  representa- 
tive of  the  law,  he  ought  to  go  with  him,  the  Mayor  left  him  in 
the  grip  of  his  fears,  and  his  better  judgment,  and  went  into 
the  street.  From  the  door  of  the  Judge's  office  he  sent  his 
policeman  with  orders  to  have  the  gathering  company  to  re- 
port at  his   office,  and  so  hastened   on  alone.     He  passed 


92  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

through  the  crowd  of  silent  watchers,  going  down  Washing- 
ton Avenue  towards  the  shops,  where  the  excitement  seemed 
to  be  greatest.  Just  below  the  railway  he  met  Mr.  Needham, 
the  one-armed  time-keeper  of  the  shops,  pale  and  out  of 
breath,  who  told  him  that  Superintendent  Robert  McKenna 
wanted  him  immediately  at  his  office,  where  there  was  trouble. 
The  Mayor  saw  just  before  him  the  Rev.  Father  M.  H.  Dunn, 
a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  thinking  he  might  be  helpful  in 
quieting  the  excitement,  took  him  by  the  arm  and  asked  him 
to  go  with  him.  The  priest  promptly  consented,  and  mani- 
fested great  courage  and  manly  fidelity  in  seeking  to  protect 
the  Mayor,  and  stay  the  violence.  They  went  together  direct 
to  McKenna's  office.  As  they  approached  the  windows  of  this 
office,  they  saw  Mr.  McKenna,  white  with  excitement,  holding 
his  daughter,  who  was  his  telegrapher,  in  his  arms,  in  a  dead 
faint  from  fright.  McKenna  shouted  to  the  Mayor  to  escape 
for  his  life.  The  Mayor  immediately  turned  about  and  caught 
sight  of  the  mob  beating  Mr.  Harlon  P.  Little,  superintendent 
of  the  lumber  yard  of  the  car  shops;  and  chasing  a  workman 
out  through  the  windows  of  the  shops.  He  started  towards 
them,  lifting  up  his  voice  with  the  demand  to  keep  the  peace. 
He  had  not  taken  a  dozen  steps  when  he  was  overtaken  by  the 
furious  crowd  that  seemed  to  come  from  every  direction.  The 
mob  had  finished  its  bloody  work  in  the  mills  and  shops,  and 
was  starting,  as  if  by  preconcerted  determination,  for  Lacka- 
wanna Avenue,  where  the  wealth  of  the  city's  merchandise 
was  concentrated.  The  Mayor,  trying  to  face  the  crowd, 
shouted  to  those  in  front  to  stand  back.  The  priest  earnestly 
joined  him  in  his  exhortations  and  remonstrance.  He  ordered 
those  in  front  to  hold  up  the  clubs  with  which  they  were 
armed,  and  keep  back  the  crowd  from  rushing  upon  his  Honor 
the  Mayor.  For  a  moment  the  front  rank  obeyed  him,  and 
the  rush  seemed  to  be  checked.  But  a  large  and  determined 
man,  who  had  already  made  himself  conspicuous  as  a  leader 


THE  MOB  AND   ITS  TRUE   MASTER.  93 

of  the  mob,  whose  linen  duster  had  attracted  the  attention  of  a 
large  number  of  spectators,  as  well  as  victims  of  his  brutality, 
pushed  to  the  front  and  cried,  "  Who  is  this  stopping  the  peo- 
ple?" Some  answered,  "It  is  the  priest,"  "Father  Dunn," 
and  some,  "  It  is  the  Mayor."  He  immediately  shouted,  "  Kill 
him!"  using  a  profane  epithet  which  at  once  revealed  his 
murderous  passion  and  his  breeding.  The  Mayor  had  already 
been  struck  on  the  head  and  shoulder,  as  he  thought,  either 
accidentally,  or  by  some  one  who  did  not  recognize  him.  But 
immediately  after  the  crourd  had  been  called  upon  to  kill  the 
Mayor,  and  the  Mayor  had  turned  to  go  towards  the  Avenue, 
this  bloody  leader,  with  conspicuous  garment,  rushed  for- 
ward and  struck  his  Honor,  either  with  his  fist  or  with  a  weapon 
in  his  left  hand,  a  blow  which  fractured  his  jaw.  Under  this 
blow  he  staggered,  when  a  second  blow  fell,  which  brought 
him  down,  pulling  the  priest  with  him.  By  the  shouts  of  the 
priest,  the  crowd  was  checked  long  enough  for  the  Mayor  to 
regain  his  feet,  when  the  priest  was  separated  from  him,  taken 
up  bodily  by  his  friends,  and  carried  up  to  Lackawanna  Ave- 
nue. The  Mayor,  with  blood  flowing  from  his  mouth  and  the 
wounds  on  his  head,  and  in  a  dazed  condition,  was  hustled 
forward  by  the  rushing  crowd,  and  reached  the  crossing  of 
Lackawanna  and  Washington.  Avenues  just  as  the  head  of  the 
marching  column  of  the  armed  citizens  struck  that  crossing. 
Mr.  Scranton,  in  the  first  rank,  seeing  the  Mayor  in  his  dazed 
condition,  took  him  by  the  arm  and  moved  him  along  with  the 
march  towards  his  office,  whither  the  Company  was  going  to 
report  to  his  Honor  for  duty. 

When  the  Company,  with  their  steady  tramp,  and  their  guns 
flashing  in  the  noontide  sunlight,  approached  the  outskirts  of 
the  rushing  crowd,  for  a  moment  the  mass  nearest  to  them 
halted,  then  divided,  and  allowed  the  column  to  march  on,  un- 
til the  rear  of  the  Company  had  passed  about  three  military 
paces  beyond  the  Lackawanna  Avenue  crossing,  on  the  west 


94  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

side  of  Washington  Avenue.  Then  the  mob  rapidly  closed 
about  them,  with  shouts  of  "Kill  them!"  "Take  their  guns!" 
"Shoot  the  rascals!"  The  column  deflected  somewhat  to  the 
left,  and  then  halted  without  orders,  from  the  pressure  of  the 
crowd,  diagonally  across  the  street-car  track  in  the  middle  of 
the  street. 

Lewis  C.  Bortree,  marching  in  the  rear  rank,  was  a  tall  young 
man,  of  tried  courage,  who  was  known  to  many  of  this  raging 
mass  as  an  unflinching  officer  of  the  peace.  Knowing  his 
danger,  he  had  marched  with  his  shoulder  touching  his  com- 
rade, and  his  face  to  the  rear  the  last  half  of  the  way.  At- 
tempts were  made  both  to  shoot  him  and  to  seize  his  gun.  He 
gave  a  clear  warning  to  the  more  venturesome  men  of  the  mob 
to  stand  back,  and  while  yet  he  was  speaking  he  was  struck 
with  a  club.  At  the  same  moment,  the  ruffian  who  had  struck 
the  Mayor  rushed  forward  and  attempted  to  snatch  the  gun 
from  the  hands  of  Edward  J.  Dimmick,  who  marched  near  the 
rear  of  the  column. 

This  seemed  to  be  the  signal  to  the  whole  mob,  and  pistols 
began  to  be  fired.  The  air  was  suddenly  filled  with  stones, 
clubs,  and  weapons  of  all  sorts,  which  seemed  to  come  from 
all  sides  at  once.  Mr.  J.  G.  Leyshon  was  struck  and  knocked 
down ;  Carl  W.  McKinney  received  a  pistol  ball  in  his  leg, 
and  Charles  E.  Chittenden  one  through  the  sleeve  of  his  coat. 
But  the  young  men  stood  like  veterans  under  this  fearful  fusil- 
ade. 

The  mob  closed  in  upon  the  rear,  and  the  two  sides  of  the 
company  with  a  rush.  Almost  opposite,  as  it  halted,  to 
the  front  of  the  column,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  street 
was  a  vacant  lot  filled  with  stones,  from  which  attack  might 
readily  be  made  from  behind  the  buildings,  and  where  such 
ammunition  as  a  mob  requires  could  be  readily  found.  Stones 
began  to  come  from  this  lot.  Three  men  at  the  front  of  the 
column  immediately  gave  themselves  to  a  vigilant  watch  of 


THE   MOB   AND   ITS   TRUE   MASTER.  95 

this  open  space,  and  of  the  building  that  stood  next  to  it. 
Throughout  the  battle  they  stood  unswervingly  to  this  duty. 
They  could  have  been  seen  raising  their  guns  with  deliberate 
aim,  and  as  deliberately  lowering  them  again.  Neither  of  them 
fired  a  shot,  because  they  would  not  shoot  until  they  were  cer- 
tain of  their  enemy;  and  the  worthy  citizens  were  abundant  all 
about  them.  These  men  were  Samuel  H.  Stevens,  James  A. 
Linen  and  Charles  H.  Lindsay,  all  veteran  soldiers  of  the  war. 
When  the  column  halted,  and  the  attack  upon  it  began, 
Mr.  Scranton,  who  had  led  the  bleeding  Mayor  with  him, 
lost  sight  of  him ;  and  he  seems  to  have  left  the  ranks,  and  at 
length  found  himself  upon  the  sidewalk  opposite  this  open  lot, 
slowly  recovering  his  senses,  which  had  been  severely  shaken 
by  the  blows  he  had  suffered.  Seeing  the  attack  at  the  rear, 
and  the  stones  flying  from  the  open  lot,  and  hearing  the  crack 
of  the  pistol  shots,  the  Mayor  threw  up  his  hands,  waved  a 
bloody  kerchief  with  which  he  had  wiped  his  face,  and 
shouted,  "  Fire,  boys  !"  He  then  began  to  move  up  the  side- 
walk, and  into  the  street,  in  the  very  line  where  there  was  the 
most  danger  from  the  firing  he  had  ordered.  It  was  only  by 
that  invisible  power  whose  wisdom  and  mercy  shields  the 
helpless,  that  he  could  escape  death  in  a  space  across  whose 
lines  fifty  bullets  sped  on  their  errands  in  less  than  three  min- 
utes. Whether  the  soldiers,  or  their  sergeant,  heard  the 
command  of  the  Mayor  is  more  than  doubtful.  The  men  at 
the  rear  of  the  column,  finding  no  alternative  left  them,  opened 
fire  as  by  a  single  impulse  just  after  Mr.  Leyshon  was  struck 
with  a  stone.  Immediately  after  the  report  of  the  first  musket 
was  heard  the  whole  column  fired,  some  with  their  guns  lev- 
eled to  the  shoulder,  their  eyes  on  the  sights,  and  some  with 
the  muzzles  up  in  the  air,  by  which  they  endangered  their 
comrades  more  than  their  foes.  Upon  the  first  volley  the 
man  with  the  marked  duster  fell,  with  the  top  of  his  head 
blown  off,  and  the  mob  began  at  once  to  disperse.     About 


96 


A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


three  full  and  irregular  volleys  were  fired,  with  deadly  intent. 
Some  of  the  men  might  have  been  seen  on  one  knee,  to  secure 
more  certain  aim,  some  of  them  moving  the  muzzle  of  the  gun 
about  as  a  huntsman  who  shoots  on  the  wing,  and  some  step- 
ping out  of  the  line  to  get  a  sight  around  the  corner.  One  tall 
youth,  whom  no  one  ever  thought  of  as  a  soldier,  was  observed 
to  smile,  most  benignly,  after  deliberately  firing  each  shot  as  if 
he  had  done  satisfactory  work,  and  had  discerned  it  through 
the  smoke  of  battle. 

The  following  diagrams  will  show  the  position  of  the  column  when  halted  by  the 

crowd,  and  when  the  attack  was  made  upon  them.   Then  the  position  assumed  when  the 

firing  began  by  the  soldiers,  and  that  in  which  they  found  themselves  when  ordered  to 

cease  firing. 

NO.  I. 


Position  of  the  troops  when  halted 
and  the  attack  was  made  on  the  rear 

1 

column. 

M.  &  P. 

Bakery. 

WASHINGTON  AVENUE.      — f 

-f— 

\\        ' 

f-   \\ 
>     \\ 

> 
> 

> 

> 
< 

M 

c 

Presbyterian 
Church. 

Sch 

lager  s. 

Hunt's. 

I+- 

Wyoming  House. 

THE   MOB  AND   ITS  TRUE   MASTER. 


97 


NO.    2. 


The  general  position  assumed  by  the  column  without  orders, 
as  the  result  of  those  along  the  lines  attempting  to  see  what 
was  being  done  at  the  rear  of  the  column  when  the  attack 
began : 


WASHINGTON   AVENUE. 


o  -. 
o"  o 
•       3 


r 
> 
n 

> 

> 

> 
< 


\ 


Direction  of 
Mob. 


S 


When  the  first  man  of  the  mob  fell,  the  panic  began  to  seize 
the  crowd  of  thousands  that  had  come  bent  upon  mischief.  A 
stampede  began  at  once,  led  by  those  who  had  come  simply  to 
see,  and  very  soon  the  fugitives  went  in  every  direction,  with- 
out any  stay  upon  the  order  of  their  going.  Some  crowded  into 

hall-ways  along  the  avenue,  and  up  the  stairs  ;  some  hurried 

7 


98 


A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


away  with  the  wounded,  using  every  effort  to  hide  their 
wounds.  Pell-mell,  helter-skelter,  tumbling  over  each  other 
and  running  on  all  fours,  until  they  could  find  time  to  recover 
their  feet,  they  ran  crazed  with  fear.  Some  were  seen  at  full 
speed  more  than  two  miles  from  the  point  of  collision.  In 
three  minutes  the  whole  street  was  cleared. 

no.  3. 
General  position  of  the  column  at  the  close  of  the  battle. 


: 

^ 

© 

( 

© 

g 

I 

J 

1 

©  Represents  position  of  bodies. 

One  tall  man,  who  had  been  surprised  while  firing  his  pistol, 
by  having  his  hat  shot  from  his  head,  lifted  his  feet  conspicu- 


THE   MOB   AND    ITS   TRUE   MASTER.  99 

ously  behind  him,  and  was  seen  rushing  up  the  street  with  his 
pistol  held  at  arms  length  in  the  air,  too  thoroughly  fright- 
ened to  recall  his  "  present  arms,"  even  when  it  would  have 
helped  his  flight.  The  running  stream  of  humanity  could  be 
discerned  down  the  valley,  up  the  valley,  across  the  river,  and 
over  the  hills.  On  every  street  the  people  in  their  homes,  en- 
tirely ignorant  of  the  mob,  or  of  the  citizens'  collision  with  it, 
were  startled  by  this  fugitive  flow  of  blanched  men,  from  whom 
they  could  learn  nothing  of  the  causes  or  the  intention  of  the 
running. 

Just  when  the  firing  of  the  soldiers  had  begun,  Lieut.  Brown 
gave  his  signal  to  the  young  man  at  the  church-gate  to  sound 
the  alarm,  and  about  the  third  round  he  rushed  to  the  side  of 
Sergeant  Bartholomewi  and  ordered  the  men  to  cease  firing. 
The  Mayor,  who  had  wandered  to  his  side,  repeated  the  order, 
and  just  as  the  last  shots  lent  their  impetus  to  the  flight  of  the 
last  fugitives  on  the  street,  the  church  bell  began  to  peal  out 
its  call  for  the  City's  Defenders ;  which  sounded  like  a  last 
requiem  indeed,  as  the  brave  young  men  found  themselves 
standing  alone  in  the  streets,  with  the  victims  of  this  swift 
execution  of  law  lying  at  their  feet.  Three  men  lay  either 
dead,  or  evidently  dying,  and  one  supposed  to  be  mortally 
wounded,  while  the  blood-stains,  traceable  in  three  directions, 
gave  signs  of  the  greater  number  that  were  more  or  less 
wounded. 

The  number  of  wounded  has  never  been  learned,  as  both 
friends  and  physicians  carefully  concealed  the  facts.  To  con- 
fess one's  self  as  wounded  might  have  given  too  much  evi- 
dence of  complicity  with  the  mob.  But  this  almost  complete 
concealment  confirmed  the  wonderful  fact  that  no  peaceful  and 
worthy  citizen  had  been  injured,  while  there  were  hundreds  of 
them  in  the  streets,  which  were  raked  by  the  guns,  and  in  the 
houses,  whose  fronts  and  windows  were  riddled  and  scarred 
by  the  bullets. 


100  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

As  soon  as  the  firing  ceased,  with  the  aid  of  Col.  Hitchcock, 
the  sergeant  untangled  and  formed  the  column  on  the  side- 
walk. He  found  them  all  in  place  and  ready  forduty,  except 
young  Roney,  who,  after  a  careful  inspection  of  the  battle-field, 
taking  note  of  the  casualties,  had  marched  alone  with  his  be- 
nignant smile  and  his  gun  at  a  right-shoulder,  back  to  the 
Wyoming  House,  from  which  he  had  come  to  join  in  the  con- 
flict. Meanwhile  the  members  of  the  Citizens'  Corps,  scattered 
all  over  the  city,  startled  first  by  the  sound  of  guns,  or  the  flee- 
ing mob,  began  to  move  from  their  places  of  business.  When 
the  sound  of  the  alarm-bell  came,  all  halting  to  inquire  what 
had  occurred,  ceased,  and  along  the  back  streets  and  up  the 
alleys,  the  young  men  ran  to  their  headquarters. 

On  Spruce  Street,  just  as  the  fugitive  crowd  had  cleared  the 
way,  and  while  pistol  shots  were  yet  adding  to  the  panic, 
Charles  R.  Smith,  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Citizens'  Com- 
pany, might  have  been  seen  dodging  his  way  behind  fences 
and  tree-boxes,  with  the  instincts  of  a  true  soldier,  and  as  a 
picket  on  duty.  He  was  hailed  by  a  short  young  man,  who 
came  trotting  down  Jefferson  Avenue,  who  had  been  aroused 
from  sleep,  having  been  on  watch  all  night,  who  inquired  what 
might  be  the  matter.  When  hastily  informed  that  the  war 
had  actually  begun,  and  that  their  brethren  were  "  already  in 
the  field,"  this  young  man  shouted,  "come  on;"  and  at  a  dead 
run  he  left  the  skirmisher  to  his  advance  by  cover,  while  he 
took  the  middle  of  the  street,  and  came  into  headquarters  just 
as  the  bloody  heroes,  all  bloodless  and  shaken,  tottered  in  to 
gather  breath  and  steady  their  nerves.  This  young  man  was 
Andrew  Bryson,  Jr.,  with  a  name  honored  in  the  American 
navy;  and  of  a  blood  glorified  in  history  for  its  courage,  and 
patriotic  virtue.  He  had  a  voice  to  command  and  a  knowledge 
of  military  tactics,  and  had  already  proven  of  invaluable  ser- 
vice as  a  drill  master,  and  second  sergeant,  of  the  company. 
While  the  firing  squad  gathered  breath  and  adjusted  their 


THE   MOB   AND   ITS   TRUE   MASTER.  101 

cartridges,  Sergeant  Bryson  formed  the  gathering  recruits  in 
line,  and  marched  them  across  the  head  of  the  street  with 
bayonets  fixed,  expecting  an  immediate  return  of  the  mob, 
which  had  so  hastily  vanished.  By  the  time  the  veteran 
Smith  had  finished  his  reconnoisance  and  seized  his  gun,  he 
found  the  line  formed,  and  Bryson  counting  the  men  off  for 
duty. 

Meanwhile  Captain  Ripple,  absorbed  in  his  books,  was  en- 
tirely oblivious  to  the  great  mass  meeting  between  himself 
and  the  city,  and  to  all  its  consequent  results.  Suddenly  he  dis- 
covered the  stream  of  fugitives  coming  directly  towards  him. 
He  went  out,  at  once,  and  learning  from  one  of  them  as  he 
ran,  that  the  soldiers  were  shooting  in  the  city,  he  seized  a 
buggy  and  drove  with  fury  through  the  crowd.  He  reached 
the  headquarters  to  find  Bryson's  squad  on  efficient  guard,  and 
learning  that  the  boys  had  been  attacked  before  they  fired, 
he  rushed  in  and  embraced  them,  with  a  glow  of  generous 
enthusiasm,  which  endeared  him  to  them  forever  afterwards. 

By  the  time  the  Captain  had  appeared,  the  greater  part  of 
his  company  had  reported  for  duty,  and  with  them  many 
more  of  the  elder  and  younger  men  of  the  city.  At  the  re- 
quest of  the  mayor,  the  captain,  as  soon  as  copies  of  a  public 
notice  could  be  printed  by  hand,  ordered  out  a  squad ;  and 
taking  the  Mayor  by  the  arm,  accompanied  him  down  Lacka- 
wanna Avenue ;  while  he  warned  all  loiterers  on  the  streets  to 
disperse  to  their  homes,  and  posted  his  order,  that  all  business 
houses  should  be  immediately  closed.  The  Mayor,  faint  from 
the  loss  of  blood,  and  sick  from  pain,  when  he  reached  Wyo- 
ming Avenue,  had  to  be  taken  back  and  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  physician,  while  Edward  C.  Lynde  and  E.  P.  Kingsbury 
acted  as  his  secretaries  and  aids. 

Captain  Ripple  finished  his  march,  and  returned  leaving  the 
street  cleared.  Bryson's  column  faced  the  open  street,  in 
which  the  dead  men  lay,  along  whose  whole  length  a  solemn 


102  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

stillness  had  speedily  fallen,  which  was  only  the  more  oppres- 
sive from  the  apprehension  that  the  mob  would  soon  rally,  and 
that  the  bloody  work  had  only  begun.  Not  a  living  soul  could 
be  seen  along  the  Avenue,  as  the  noontide  sun  poured  down  its 
light  and  heat. 

At  this  time  there  lived  in  the  city  of  Scranton  a  worthy 
colored  man  of  marked  piety  and  politeness,  who  ran  an  ex- 
press wagon  to  earn  an  honest  living.  He  was  universally 
known  for  his  courtesy,  and  his  honest  purpose.  Indeed  he 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  needs  and  factors  of  the  city. 
Simple-hearted  and  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  he  was  the 
owner  of  a  horse  more  solemn  and  conspicuous  than  himself. 
It  was  a  horse  built  after  the  mediaeval  gothic  style  of  archi- 
tecture, exceedingly  long  and  loose.  A  horse  which  seemed 
to  have  been  put  together  in  sections,  with  an  imperfect  con- 
nection between  them,  each  section  requiring  to  be  set  in  mo- 
tion before  the  one  next  to  it  could  be  fully  apprised  of  the 
driver's  intention  to  move.  When  in  full  motion,  this  horse 
would  remind  one  of  a  dilapidated  locomotive  and  its  tender 
trying  an  upward  grade,  with  a  half  head  of  steam.  The  case 
in  which  the  spectator  may  perplex  himself  with  the  question 
as  to  whether  the  motive  power  is  in  the  locomotive  or  in  the 
tender.  Just  as  Captain  Ripple  had  completed  his  march, 
undertaken  by  the  Mayor's  order,  closing  the  business 
houses  and  dismissing  the  loiterers  from  the  street;  Bry- 
son's  division  of  the  guard  being  still  on  duty  across  the 
head  of  the  Avenue ;  the  slowly  sawing  head  and  pendent 
tongue  of  this  remarkable  horse  became  visible,  coming  up  the 
street  by  sections,  at  its  usual  gait,  as  if  no  unwonted  excite- 
ment had  ever  disturbed  the  highway.  Beside,  and  following 
the  tender,  in  which  the  driver  sat,  with  his  usual  dignity  and 
incapability  of  showing  fear  by  change  of  color,  marched  with 
solemn  determination  an  alderman  of  the  Sixth  Ward,  burdened 
with  the  dignity  of  duty  official.     With  him  was  a  cluster  of 


THE   MOB   AND   ITS  TRUE   MASTER.  103 

the  friends  of  the  dead  men,  whose  bodies  were  still  lying  at 
the  four  corners  of  the  street.  With  becoming  gravity,  the 
bodies  of  the  unfortunate  victims  were  lifted  and  tenderly  placed 
in  the  wagon,  and  grateful  thanks  tendered  the  driver  for  his 
friendly  offices  at  a  time  when  friends  were  so  needful.  They 
then  inquired  the  price  of  his  hire.  The  man,  who  lived  and 
died  at  peace  with  God,  and  with  all  races  of  men,  lifted  his 
hat,  and  with  the  statement  that  he  should  charge  them  nothing 
for  this  service,  he  also  assured  them  that  he  should  "always 
be  happy  to  serve  them  under  circumstances  like  these."  He 
gave  notice  to  his  faithful  horse,  and  bore  away  to  their  wait- 
ing friends  the  remains  of  this  terrible  mob ;  leaving  the  Citi- 
zens' Corps  and  the  wounded  Mayor  in  possession  of  the  city, 
upon  which  had  fallen  a  painful  silence  and  apprehension.  Law 
had  won  its  first  victory  over  the  blind  force  of  passion,  and 
the  wicked  schemes  of  communism  in  the  city.  The  flood  had 
met  the  rock  in  the  great  highway  of  the  city.  The  waters  had 
raged  and  swept  about  it  in  fearful  eddies  of  violence  and 
wrath;  but  the  rock  remained  unmoved  until  the  stream  was 
utterly  broken.  The  city  whose  danger  had  gathered  as  a 
tempest,  which  threatened  to  sweep  away  the  best  treasures  of 
its  people,  had  found  its  defense  in  the  courage  of  its  young 
men,  who  announced  with  the  crack  of  their  rifles  that  the  law 
must  be  respected. 

A  few  minutes  after  the  last  shots  were  fired,  Mr.  George 
Sanderson,  Jr.,  ran  to  the  telegraph  office  and  sent  a  request 
to  Governor  Hartranft  to  send  troops  at  once,  and  having  re- 
ceived answer  that  troops  were  on  the  way,  and  would  reach 
the  city  before  midnight,  he  shouldered  his  gun  and  reported 
at  the  Mayor's  headquarters  for  duty. 


104  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS. 

The  Night  Watch— After  the  Battle— The  Picket  Line—"  Grand  Rounds''—"  For- 
lorn Hope  '' — Morning  Relief — Shock  of  the  Rebound. 

AS  soon  as  the  mayor  had  sufficiently  recovered,  having 
been  carried  to  the  company's  store,  he  issued  his  orders 
to  all  able-bodied  citizens  to  gather  upon  a  given  signal  to 
this  point,  which  he  had  made  his  headquarters.  Captain 
Ripple  sent  out  squads  of  his  company  to  enlist  such  men  as 
might  be  willing  to  aid  in  guarding  the  city.  By  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon  the  Citizens'  Corps  had  pretty  much  all 
reported  for  duty,  and,  with  the  accession  of  volunteers,  an 
efficient  force  was  gathered.  Bryson's  guard  was  held  fast  to 
duty  across  the  avenue,  changing  its  members  as  necessity 
required,  while  he  varied  their  monotonous  watch  with  drill  in 
the  use  of  their  arms.  Every  man  who  possessed  a  gun 
brought  it  with  him,  and  those  who  had  none  were  furnished 
with  those  gathered  by  Ruthven,  which  belonged  to  the  State, 
until  the  supply  was  entirely  exhausted.  As  the  night  came 
on  the  expectation  was  universal  that  the  mob  would  return, 
and  such  citizens  as  could  not  leave  their  families  were  re- 
quested to  place  themselves  on  guard  near  their  own  premises. 
Strong  guards  were  placed  on  all  the  streets  and  alleys  lead- 
ing to  the  headquarters;  and  pickets  were  stationed  at  different 
points  further  out,  to  prevent  surprise. 

Reliefs  were  organized  for  the  night  work,  and  intelligent 
watchmen  were  placed  on  the  top  of  the  store,  and  at  other 
points  of  observation,  as  the  force  was  not  sufficient  to  attempt 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE   CITY'S   DEFENDERS.       105 

a  reconnoissance  in  the  outskirts  to  learn  what  the  law- 
less might  be  doing.  At  intervals  reconnoitering  squads 
were  sent  out  into  different  parts  of  the  city,  while  the  men 
off  duty  spent  the  time  in  preparing  cartridges  and  burnishing 
their  guns.  Thus  the  whole  city  was  reduced  to  an  extem- 
porized military  camp,  in  which  no  traveler  on  the  streets 
was  suffered  to  pass  without  challenge. 

The  City  of  Scranton  had  never  seen  such  a  night,  as  this 
which  followed  the  dispersion  of  the  mob.  The  citizens 
knew  their  force  was  entirely  too  limited  to  protect  the  great 
interests  they  had  undertaken  to  defend.  If  the  mob  should 
organize  and  return,  as  every  one  supposed  it  would,  their 
numbers  must  exceed,  at  least  tenfold,  all  the  forces  that 
could  be  mustered  against  them.  The  families  in  their 
homes,  almost  without  exception,  were  left  without  imme- 
diate defenders ;  as  husbands,  brothers  and  sons  were  all  sta- 
tioned on  duty  where  the  mayor  and  his  counsellors  deemed 
best. 

But  the  courage  of  the  ladies  throughout  was  manifestly 
heroic.  As  the  shadows  began  to  gather,  an  alarm  was  sent 
to  headquarters  that  an  attack  had  been  made  on  the  Scran- 
ton family  residence,  and  two  squads  were  sent  on  the  dou- 
ble-quick to  the  rescue.  When  one  of  these  squads  ap- 
proached, they  were  surprised  to  find  one  of  the  young 
ladies  of  the  house,  who  had  been  startled  by  the  passing  of 
a  bullet  through  one  of  the  window-panes,  had  rushed  out, 
and  around  the  house,  revolver  in  hand,  searching  for  the 
marauder  that  had  shot  it.  Another  lady  might  have  been 
seen  gun  in  hand  standing  watch  in  her  own  door,  as  a  relief 
to  her  husband,  who  was  permitted  to  take  an  hour's  sleep 
after  midnight;  and  another  still,  having  her  two  sons  in  the 
ranks  and  her  husband  out  of  the  city,  whiled  away  her 
lonely  hours  preparing  lint  and  bandages,  for  any  wounded 
heroes  who   might  need   them  before   the  morning.      This 


106  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

much  is  recorded  as  a  fair  sample  of  the  courage  and  devo- 
tion of  the  mothers,  wives  and  sisters  of  the  brave  men  who 
risked  their  lives  for  the  reign  of  law  and  order. 

A  solemn  silence  reigned  over  the  whole  city,  which 
seemed  to  grow  deeper  as  the  hours  passed,  and  to  affect 
every  living  thing.  The  full  moon  and  a  clear  sky  made  it 
remarkably  light;  but  scarcely  a  sound  disturbed  the  painful 
watching.  Scarcely  a  dog  ventured  to  bark,  a  chicken  to 
crow,  or  even  a  horse  to  stamp  in  his  stall. 

The  watchman  on  the  company's  store^  from  time  to  time, 
reported  the  movement  of  signal  lights  and  flashing  of  rock- 
ets on  the  hills,  and  among  the  "patches,"  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  city,  and  pickets  reported  the  discovery  of  bodies  of  men 
gathering  at  different  points  down  the  valley.  All  night  long 
squads  of  strikers  were  moving  about,  and  gathering  at  dif- 
ferent points,  a  short  distance  from  the  city.  Alarms  which 
brought  the  whole  force  to  its  feet  were  frequent  through  the 
night ;  but  these  alarms  were,  perhaps,  as  much  due  to  the 
anxiety  and  inexperience  of  the  men  on  duty  as  to  any  im- 
mediate danger.  All  night  long  these  brave  men  stood  to 
their  watch,  momentarily  expecting  bloody  work ;  but  the 
morning  dawned  without  any  return  of  the  mob,  and  brought 
with  it  renewed  confidence,  as  well  as  refreshment,  to  the 
weary  watchers.  The  mass  of  these  young  men  had  been  on 
duty  for  eighteen  hours,  and  some  of  them  for  more  than 
thirty  without  relief. 

The  anxieties  of  the  night  had  been  greatly  increased  by 
the  failure  of  the  promised  troops  to  reach  the  city;  and  by 
the  conviction  that  they  had  been  stopped  by  a  breaking  of 
the  track,  or  some  disabling  of  the  trains  at  least  thirty  miles 
away.  The  movement  of  the  trains  filled  with  troops  had 
been  traced  by  telegraph  on  the  Bloomsburgh  Division  of  the 
Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railway  almost  to  Nan- 
ticoke,  where  the  strikers  had  torn  up  the  track.     Here,  at 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE   CITY'S   DEFENDERS.       107 

about  eleven  o'clock,  p.  m,  the  telegraph  wire  was  cut,  and  no 
man  could  conjecture  what  the  result  might  be.  The  troops 
were  known  to  be  at  least  two  days'  march  distant  from  the 
city,  if  their  train  should  have  to  be  abandoned.  Towards 
midnight  Alexander  W.  Dickson  and  Robert  Reaves  were 
sent  up  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railway  to 
stop  the  night  train,  and  take  from  it  a  lot  of  hand  grenades, 
which  had  been  ordered  by  telegraph  from  New  York.  They 
succeeded,  and  by  the  possession  of  these,  the  watchers  at 
the  headquarters  felt  a  new  courage  and  strength;  for  with 
these  every  boy  might  be  effectively  armed. 

But  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  2d,  the  bur- 
den of  the  watchers  was  suddenly  lifted,  as  the  first  train,  with 
the  First  Division  of  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania, 
under  command  of  Major  General  Robert  M.  Brinton,  came 
quietly  into  the  city,  about  3000  strong,  and  having  about  a 
hundred  of  the  road  breakers  and  rioters  as  prisoners  in 
charge.  Never  were  soldiers  more  joyfully  welcomed.  The 
homes  of  the  city  were  thrown  open,  and  these  men  who 
had  been  on  fatigue  duty  for  more  than  two  weeks,  and  had 
among  them  some  of  the  best  men  from  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, were  soon  made  to  feel  that  they  had  at  least  found  a 
place  where  their  work  would  be  appreciated. 

Within  less  than  an  hour  these  regiments  were  placed  in, 
and  around,  the  city  where  their  force  could  be  made  most  ef- 
fective. "  The  Citizens'  Corps  "  was  relieved  from  immediate 
duty,  and  the  members  were  suffered  to  disperse  to  their 
homes,  to  report  upon  call.  The  spirit,  and  patriotic  self-de- 
nial of  these  men  upon  guard  may  be  indicated  by  a  single 
instance. 

After  the  National  Guard  appeared,  a  German  lawyer  of  no 
mean  reputation,  who  had  been  held  to  duty  in  Bryson's 
Guard,  stepped  up  to  his  officer  about  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  asked  if  he  could  now  be  safely  permitted  to  go 


108  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

to  his  home ;  remarking  that  he  supposed  there  was  a  new 
child  in  his  house  that  morning,  and  he  would  like  to  know 
whether  it  was  a  boy  or  a  girl. 

As  soon  as  General  Brinton  had  housed  his  prisoners  safely, 
he  placed  strong  guards  and  pickets  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
city ;  and  the  Mayor  before  noon,  had  posted  his  peremptory 
order,  that  all  saloons  and  bars  where  liquor  was  sold  should 
be  at  once  closed,  and  remain  closed,  until  otherwise  ordered. 
"  The  Citizens'  Corps  "  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  seeing 
that  this  order  was  complied  with.  A  little  after  noon  Gov- 
ernor Hartranft,  who  had  left  Pittsburgh  the  evening  before, 
arrived,  accompanied  by  Major-General  Kuidekoper,  with  his 
command  of  eight  hundred  men.  The  presence  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, especially  because  of  the  great  confidence  of  all  classes 
in  his  wisdom,  and  executive  ability,  speedily  brought  a  feel- 
ing of  relief  to  the  whole  community.  That  class  of  the 
workmen  on  strike,  who  had  become  unexpectedly  involved 
by  the  horrible  work  of  the  lawless,  knew  the  Governor  would 
do  them  no  injustice;  while  the  protectors  and  asserters  of  law 
were  satisfied  from  his  military  record,  that  through  his  wis- 
dom and  experience  any  intemperate  military  zeal  awakened 
must  be  controlled.  Hence  the  whole  people  felt  an  inex- 
pressible relief,  and  began  to  come  from  their  homes  and  seek 
for  some  intelligent  apprehension  of  the  results  of  the  sudden 
and  bloody  resistance  to  the  mob,  which  had  been  made  by 
the  heroic  band  of  young  men  on  yesterday. 

The  effects  of  the  determined  resistance  to  the  mob  were 
not  measured  by  the  immediate  and  visible  results.  These 
were  salutary,  indeed,  if  they  were  severe.  A  sight  to  make 
one  shudder  was  revealed  when  the  day  dawned  on  the  city. 
The  people,  relieved  of  immediate  apprehension,  walked  about 
the  streets  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  tragedy  with  awe. 
It  was  sad,  indeed,  to  see  the  blood  of  men,  who  were  yester- 
day so  full  of  life  and  fury,  drying  on  the  stones  of  the  streets, 


THE   GATHERING  OF  THE   CITY'S   DEFENDERS.       109 

and  note  the  peaceful  houses  of  merchandise  of  a  Christian 
city  covered  with  bullet  marks,  which  indicated  how  much 
more  fatal  must  have  been  the  results,  but  for  that  invisible 
guiding  hand  that  makes  no  mistakes.  Why  no  more  lives 
were  sacrificed,  in  the  crowd  where  there  could  have  hardly  been 
less  than  three  thousand  people  crowded  within  half  a  block; 
and  where  so  many  bullet  marks  were  left  on  the  stones  of  the 
street,  and  on  the  buildings  at  no  greater  height  than  a  man's 
head,  was  an  insoluble  enigma.  But  it  was  clear  that  these 
young  men  had  demonstrated,  what  had  been  demonstrated  a 
thousand  times  before,  that  it  is  the  highest  wisdom  and  the 
truest  humanity  to  meet  mob  violence,  as  quickly  as  it  mani- 
fests itself,  with  a  deadly  force. 

This  "  Citizens'  Corps  "  of  volunteer  police  evidently  saved 
the  city  by  their  prompt  and  determined  action.  But  it  was 
soon  manifested  that  they  had  done  vastly  more.  The  crack 
of  their  rifles  echoed  and  re-echoed  up  and  down  the  valley; 
giving  voice  to  the  majesty  of  law  from  Carbondale,  to  Nanti- 
coke ;  and  a  very  few  hours  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the 
monster  of  communistic  rage,  of  pillage  and  murder,  that  had 
swept  through  so  many  cities  of  the  land,  had  been  struck  in 
its  vital  part  on  Lackawanna  Avenue. 

These  fifty  guns  had  fought  and  won  the  battle  of  law  and 
order  for  the  northern  coal-fields.  By  the  shock  of  their  tread, 
the  vigor  of  their  determination,  and  the  dead  earnestness  of 
their  aim,  these  young  men  inaugurated  the  flight  of  lawless 
endeavor,  which  swept  over  the  whole  valley,  and  speedily 
gave  the  power  into  the  hands  of  the  good  and  true.  The 
effect  of  this  bold  and  deadly  resistance  was  felt  immediately 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Kingston  ;  not  only  in  giving  new  cour- 
age to  law-loving  people,  but  especially  in  dissolving  at  once 
the  schemes  of  the  wicked.  On  the  2d  of  August  the  tele- 
graph had  carried  the  victory  from  ocean  to  ocean.  The  rev- 
elation of  the  city's  danger  and  defense  was  carried  on  wings 


110  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

of  lightning  around  the  world,  while  the  boys  held  their 
solemn  vigil.  The  Scranton  mode  of  dealing  with  the  mob  was 
heralded  from  city  to  city,  and  awoke,  in  many  an  exposed 
community,  to  the  energies  of  true  wisdom,  the  hesitating 
people.  The  persevering  courage  and  official  manliness  of  the 
wounded  Mayor  was  used  in  all  cities  of  the  country  to  infuse" 
executive  officials  with  the  spirit  of  American  devotion  to  of- 
ficial duty,  and  arouse  the  people  to  the  apprehension  of  the  sol- 
emn sanctities  of  law;  without  which  there  can  be  no  true  liberty. 

The  editors  of  a  neighboring  city  stirred  up  their  executive 
with  a  striking  contrast  between  the  efficiency  of  the  Scranton 
Mayor  "  with  his  broken  jaw,"  with  that  of  their  own  Mayor, 
whom  they  said  was  "  all  jaw."  Thus  throughout  this  part  of 
the  country  the  effect  became   rapidly  manifest  and  salutary. 

But  in  the  city  of  Scranton,  and  in  the  coal-fields,  the  end  of 
violence  had  not  come.  The  people  only  felt  the  more  in- 
tensely, as  the  smoke  of  the  battle  cleared  away,  that  the  dan- 
gers of  the  community  were  not  all  passed.  The  state  of  feel- 
ing between  the  dissatisfied  workmen  and  their  employers  was 
only  intensified  by  the  lawless  results  of  the  strike,  and  by  the 
bloodstains  on  the  stones  of  the  street.  The  present  relief 
afforded  by  the  presence  of  the  Governor,  and  his  guard  of 
five  thousand  soldiers,  only  suggested,  with  great  emphasis, 
to  the  timid  and  cowardly,  the  coming  danger,  when  these 
troops  should  be  withdrawn  and  the  city  remanded  to  its 
own  care,  and  the  administration  of  law.  It  was  evident, 
indeed,  to  the  wise  and  thoughtful  citizens  that  time  alone 
could  close  the  fissures  which  had  so  suddenly  been  revealed, 
heal  the  wounds  of  conflict,  and  bring  the  mixed  community 
back  to  a  solid  basis  of  peace  and  good-will. 

The  Citizens'  Corps  had  scarcely  been  relieved  from  its  fatigue 
duty,  by  the  arrival  of  the  Philadelphia  troops,  before  the  sug- 
gestions of  fear,  on  the  one  side,  and  consciousness  of  humili- 
ation and  defeat  on  the  other,  began  to  disturb  the  people 


THE   GATHERING  OF  THE   CITY'S   DEFENDERS.       Ill 

generally,  separating  them  into  classes.  The  public  found  it- 
self called  upon  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  acts  of  their  brave 
defenders,  both  on  the  questions  of  right,  and  of  prudent  wis- 
dom. The  young  men  had  not  had  time  to  wash  the  grim 
stain  of  powder  from  their  hands  and  faces  before  they  found 
themselves  arraigned  in  the  public  mind,  for  their  rashness,  or 
for  the  possible  results  of  the  forceful  dispersion  of  the  mob. 
They  soon  saw  that  they  must  defend  themselves,  as  well  as 
the  city. 

In  the  gathering  of  the  facts  for  the  preparation  of  this  his- 
tory, the  author  secured  personal  statements  from  all  the  main 
actors,  and  from  many  witnesses  of  the  crowded  events.  By 
comparing  these  statements  he  has  been  able,  he  believes,  to 
write  a  true  record  of  the  main  facts  as  they  occurred.  These 
statements  are  all  more  or  less  comprehensive  and  minute. 
Generally  they  have  proved  to  be  entirely  reliable.  It  is  here 
proposed  to  introduce  an  extract  from  the  statement  of  Captain 
Ripple  as  more  clear  and  expressive  of  the  state  of  feeling,  and 
spirit  which  prevailed  the  day  after  the  mob,  than  anything 
the  author  could  present.  Captain  Ripple's  statement  respect- 
ing this  return  wave  is  as  follows  : 

"  Of  the    events    which    followed   close    after  the    riot  of 
August  I,  1877  and  the  peculiar  condition  of  the  public  mind 
at  that  time  I  will  make  a  brief  statement. 

"The  boys  of  the  firing  squad  and  members  of  the  Citizens' 
Corps,  had  hardly  been  relieved  from  immediate  duty  by  the 
arrival  of  Gen.  Brinton  and  his  command,  when  we  found  that 
we  had  to  answer  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion,  for  what  we 
thought  had  been  both  courageously  and  patriotically  done.  We 
had  not  returned  to  our  homes  after  the  weary  night-watch, 
before  we  found  there  was  a  current  of  public  opinion  setting 
hard  against  us.  All  over  the  streets  the  question  was  being 
discussed  as  to  whether  there  had  been  a  mob.  Many  fearful 
souls,  who   for   the   week   preceding   the  riot  scarcely  dared 


112  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

recognize  one  of  the  Citizens'  Corps  on  the  street,  for  fear  he 
might  be  considered  one  of  them,  and  thereby  become  a 
marked  man;  and  who,  immediately  after  the  suppression  of 
the  riot,  under  the  impulse  of  their  relieved  feelings,  were 
loudest  in  their  praise  of  the  firing  party,  now  as  suddenly 
changed  front  again,  and  charged  the  boys  with  hastily  yield- 
ing to  the  impressions  and  cruel  demands  of  Mr.  Scranton^ 
which  they  assumed  led  to  firing  upon  what  they  called 
helpless  and  harmless  people.  The  whole  matter  began  to 
assume  very  serious  aspects  in  the  company  itself.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  corps  who  had  not  been  notified  until  the  mob  had 
been  dispersed,  began  to  feel  happy  that  they  had  escaped  the 
responsibility  of  the  shooting,  and  some  of  the  members  of 
the  firing  squad  became  so  much  troubled,  that  they  tried  to 
have  it  understood  that  they  had  not  been  present.  Others 
quietly  spread  the  intelligence  that  they  had  not  fired  their 
guns. 

"Those  of  us  who  felt  the  responsibility  in  the  case  became 
perplexed  and  amazed.  We  were  told  that  it  would  not  be 
safe  for  us  to  walk  the  streets,  for  we  were  marked  men, — and 
if  we  had  friends,  they  were  apparently  few,  and  we  did  not 
know  where  to  find  them.  I  cannot  express  the  comfort  it 
gave  us  to  find  here  and  there  a  man  with  a  real  back-bone, 
who  was  not  afraid  to  give  us  assurance  of  an  intention  to 
stand  by  us.  I  could  mention  a  number  who  showed  them- 
selves in  this  light.  They  were  such  men  as  Dr.  N.  Y.  Leet, 
Charles  W.  Roesler,  Charles  F.  Mattes,  William  W.  Manness, 
Frederick  W.  Gunster,  C.  L.  Mercereau,  J.  C.  Piatt,  George 
Sanderson,  Sr.,  and  Dr.  Throop.  We  found  especial  comfort 
in  the  outspoken  courage  of  W.  W.  Scranton.  He  was  a  man 
for  the  time  certainly,  and  while  he  was  the  object  of  the  bit- 
terest feeling  and  unfair  criticism,  he  stood  without  flinching, 
and  his  bravery  helped  us  all.  The  day  after  the  mob,  was  about 
as  trying  a  time  for  us  as  any  we  were  called  to  meet.     It  was 


THE  GATHERING   OF   THE   CITY'S   DEFENDERS.       113 

harder  for  us  to  defend  ourselves  than  to  defend  the  city.  But 
the  boys  stuck  together  as  well  as  they  could,  and  did  their 
duty,  seeing  that  the  saloons  were  closed,  as  the  Mayor  had 
ordered ;  and  when  night  came,  the  whole  company  gathered 
at  headquarters  and  remained  together,  because  it  was  clear 
there  was  danger  to  individuals,  who  might  be  waylaid  on  the 
streets,  or  get  into  trouble  through  the  discussions  of  the 
crowds,  or  be  arrested  at  their  homes  and  taken  to  some  out- 
lying ward,  to  be  given  a  mock  trial  and  subjected  to  every 
indignity,  and  possibly  murdered  in  going  or  returning,  by  the 
infuriated  rioters,  or  their  sympathizers. 

"The  evening  train  of  that  day  brought  back  to  the  city  two 
men  who  were  destined  to  become  leaders  and  counsellors  for 
us  in  this  condition  of  excitement  and  uncertainty,  which  had 
been  so  perplexing  all  day — two  men  who  became  openly 
identified  with  all  the  plans  about  to  be  carried  through  to  se- 
cure the  future  safety  of  the'  city,  as  well  as  to  save  the  brave 
men  who  had  dispersed  the  mob.  One  of  these  was  Mr.  Henry 
M.  Boies,  the  President  of  the  'Moosic  Powder  Company'  and 
afterwards  of  the  'Dickson  Manufacturing  Company,'  now  the 
owner  and  operator  of  the  great  manufacturing  interest  of  the 
'  Boies  Steel  Car-wheel  Factory '  in  the  city.  The  other  was  Rev. 
Dr.  S.  C.  Logan,  who  had  for  nine  years  been  the  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scranton.  We  learned  that  both 
of  these  men  had,  from  the  beginning  of  the  strike,  counselled 
the  organization  of  a  force  to  secure  the  city  from  lawlessness: 
either  an  enlarged  and  armed  police,  or  a  military  company, 
to  enforce  respect  for  law.  Mr.  Boies  had  volunteered,  on  the 
first  suggestion  of  the  Mayor,  as  special  policeman,  and  had 
also  signed  the  roll  of  the  Citizens'  Corps.  He  had  remained 
in  the  city  for  duty  until  assured  that  his  services  would  not 
be  needed,  when  he  joined  his  family  at  the  sea-shore.  He 
had  hardly  greeted  his  family  before  he  was  startled  by  the 
telegraphic  announcement  of  the  bloody  riot,  and  he  started 
for  home  on  the  first  train. 
8 


114  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

"  Dr.  Logan  was  a  parson  with  positive  convictions.  He  oc- 
cupied towards  us  the  position  of  minister  of  peace,  but  was 
well  prepared  by  moral  courage  and  mental  grasp  to  be  a  min- 
ister of  war  as  well.  He  believed  in  the  reign  of  reason  and 
law,  and  determined  these  should  reign  in  the  city,  if  it  should 
be  necessary  to  have  some  one  stand  over  a  man  with  a  club  while 
he  reasoned  with  him.  He  was  both  long  and  level-headed, 
and  became  a  tower  of  strength  and  comfort  to  us  at  this  criti- 
cal time.  He  had  charged  his  two  sons,  when  he  left  for  his 
vacation,  that  if  the  strike  then  sweeping  over  the  country 
should  reach  the  city,  they  should  offer  their  services  to  the 
Mayor  as  special  police,  and  stand  openly  on  the  side  of  law, 
allowing  no  such  degradation  of  the  United  States  flag  as  he 
had  witnessed  in  1871,  when  it  was  carried  through  the  mills 
by  the  strikers,  driving  men  from  their  work.  He  had  learned 
that  his  sons  had  followed  his  advice,  and  he  had  tried  for  a 
week  to  return,  but  found  no  way  of  travel.  He  came  in  on 
the  first  train  that  would  permit  it  after  learning  of  the  riot. 
This  train  came  in  with  the  windows  barricaded  with  cushions, 
and  the  few  passengers  protected  by  such  articles  of  furniture 
as  could  be  used  to  shield  them  from  stones  and  bullets,  of 
which  the  conductor  had  been  warned  by  the  attack  on  the 
down-train,  the  same  night,  just  outside  of  the  city.  The 
Doctor  was  well-known  to  the  boys,  who  thought  a  great  deal 
of  him.  Three  young  men  of  the  Citizens'  Corps  obtained 
leave  to  meet  him,  about  midnight,  at  the  station,  and  escorted 
him  with  their  guns  to  his  home,  where  his  excellent  wife  had 
been  remaining  alone  for  forty-eight  hours. 

"  These  two  men  brought  us  strength  and  help  very  quickly 
by  their  outspoken  defence  of  the  Company  and  of  the  firing 
squad.  On  Friday  night  they  both  came  to  the  headquarters 
and  were  received  with  cheers,  as  the  boys  had  learned  to 
appreciate  true  friends.  Dr.  Logan,  after  his  usual  style, 
made  us  a  speech,  in  which  he  offered  to  bury  all  of  the  boys 


THE  GATHERING   OF   THE   CITY'S   DEFENDERS.       115 

with  benefit  of  clergy,  if  they  should  be  hung  for  shooting  the 
rioters.  In  fact,  as  he  himself  once  described  it,  he  '  uncov- 
ered his  inexhaustible  gas-retort  and  let  off  sky-rockets  for 
the  illumination  of  the  United  States  flag,'  and  closed  with 
the  promise  to  stand  by  the  young  men.  I  am  glad  to  say 
that  he  afterwards  fulfilled  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  City- 
Guard  the  promises  he  made  that  night.  It  is  enough  for  me 
to  say  that  the  boys  took  new  courage,  and  concluded  it 
might  yet  be  counted  an  honor  to  have  saved  the  city,  and  from 
that  night  we  were  satisfied  we  should  not  stand  alone."  Thus 
far  Capt.  Ripple. 

As  Captain  Ripple  states  it,  the  shooting  at  the  mob  was 
charged  as  hasty  and  uncalled  for.  The  mob  itself  was  said 
to  have  been  an  unarmed,  and  helpless  body  of  people,  who 
had  set  out  to  persuade,  or  possibly  to  compel  by  force  of 
public  opinion,  their  comrades  to  leave  the  shops,  and  refuse 
work  until  all  could  go  back  on  equal  terms.  Threats  of 
vengeance,  with  grave  warnings  of  future  trouble,  began  to 
creep  about  the  streets.  Passion  began  to  rise  among  the 
people ;  and  as  they  discussed  the  facts,  the  after-thoughts  of 
both  the  honest  and  the  faint-hearted  made  the  days  sad  and 
sombre.  For  awhile  it  seemed  to  be  a  very  questionable 
honor  to  be  known  as  one  of  the  brave  fifty.  So  much  so 
that  the  recognized  members  dwindled  down  as  low  as  thirty- 
eight  in  the  general  count.  The  best  citizens  soon  saw  that 
something  must  be  done  to  rally  the  people  to  the  right,  or 
the  fruits  of  the  victory  over  the  mob  would  all  be  lost. 
Hence,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2d  of  August,  a  meeting  of 
citizens  was  gathered,  on  private  notice,  circulated  mostly  by 
Charles  W.  Roesler  and  Hugh  M.  Hannah,  at  the  Anthracite 
Club  Rooms.  Over  this  meeting  the  Hon.  George  Sanderson 
presided  and  Hugh  M.  Hannah  acted  as  secretary.  This 
meeting  fully  and  emphatically  endorsed  the  actions  of  the 
Mayor,  his  Police  and  the  Citizens'  Corps.     The  committee  on 


116  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

resolutions,  consisting  of  Isaac  J.  Post,  Lewis  Pughe,  Charles 
Dupont  Breck,  Dr.  B.  H.  Throop  and  Henry  Belin,  Jr. ;  after 
calling  attention  to  the  proclamation  of  the  Governor,  issued 
more  than  a  week  before,  inviting  and  authorizing  all  good 
citizens  to  organize  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order,  as 
our  Citizens'  Corps  had  done,  reported  a  series  of  ringing  reso- 
lutions, giving  the  highest  commendation  to  the  Mayor  and 
the  young  men,  pledging  both  hand  and  purse  of  the  best  citi- 
zens for  their  defense.  The  reporters  of  the  respectable  papers 
were  quietly  advised  to  change  their  tone,  and  they  gave  as- 
surances of  being  in  hearty  co-operation  with  the  designs  of 
the  meeting.  These  resolutions  were  published,  and  before 
another  day  had  passed  the  drift  of  public  opinion,  which  was 
setting  so  disastrously  against  the  firing  squad, began  to  change. 

The  miners'  association,  through  their  committee,  publicly 
denied  all  complicity  with  either  the  mass-meeting  of  August 
1st,  or  with  the  mob  in  which  it  terminated.  Yet  they  on  the 
2d,  appointed  a  committee  to  prosecute  the  men  who  fired  upon 
it.  The  day  closed  with  the  rumor  that  an  alderman  of  the 
Sixth  Ward,  under  the  counsel  of  an  Irish  lawyer,  who  was 
known  to  be  seeking  for  the  nomination  as  a  candidate  for  the 
office  of  Additional  Law  Judge  of  the  County,  had  taken  upon 
himself  the  duties  of  the  Coroner,  and  proposed  to  hold  an  in- 
quest in  this  Ward  of  the  city  over  the  dead  men  who  yet  lay 
unburied. 

On  the  3d  of  August  the  two  men  mentioned  by  Captain 
Ripple  were  joined  by  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Marple,  the  worthy  Rec- 
tor of  St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  city,  who  had  cut 
off  his  vacation  also,  and  hastened  home  where  his  son  had  en- 
listed to  maintain  law  and  order.  These  pastors  held  a  con- 
sultation and  agreed  that  bold  and  emphatic  vindication  of  the 
Mayor,  and  his  special  police  in  their  resistance  to  the  mob, 
was  the  duty  of  the  hour,  and  at  once  set  about  it.  In  this 
work  they  soon  found  many  earnest  helpers,  such  as  those 


THE   GATHERING  OF  THE   CITY'S   DEFENDERS.       117 

mentioned  by  Captain  Ripple  in  his  statement.  The  young- 
men  kept  together  at  their  headquarters,  partly  by  the  affinities 
their  work  had  created,  and  partly  by  the  fear  of  assassination, 
if  they  should  remain  at  their  homes.  It  was  on  the  night  of 
the  3d  that  these  pastors  visited  the  Mayor's  and  military 
headquarters,  when  Dr.  Logan  addressed  them  with  words  of 
cheer,  in  which  he  committed  himself  and  all  true  men  in  the 
city  to  their  support  and  protection,  giving  them  hearty  thanks 
for  the  work  they  had  already  done.  In  the  positions  taken 
the  excellent  Rector  heartily  joined,  giving  his  audible  endorse- 
ment. The  young  men  who  had  stood  as  a  wall  before  this 
flood  of  wicked  passion  to  break  its  power,  and  for  twenty  hours 
had  stood  on  guard  to  preserve  the  city  against  the  expected  re- 
turn of  what  everybody  knew  was  an  overwhelming  force,  began 
from  that  time  to  rise  above  the  fears  of  their  friends.  That 
Friday  night's  gathering  started  the  current  of  public  feeling 
which  had  been  breasted  the  day  before  by  the  citizens'  meet- 
ing in  the  direction  of  justice  and  of  true  safety. 


118  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  RETURN  TIDE. 

Dangers  of  the  Undertow — The  Invisible  Dangers  Worse  than  the  Visible — The 
City's  Defenders  Must  Defend  Themselves. 

THERE  were  two  "forces,  at  this  time  active  in  the  com- 
munity, which  especially  interfered  with  the  healthy 
movement  of  public  opinion.  Both  of  these  connected  itself, 
more  or  less  directly,  with  the  ex  parte  coroner's  investigation 
which  was  being  conducted  in  the  Sixth  Ward,  by  men  whose 
natural  affinities  and  race  prejudices  were  supposed  to  lead 
them  into  sympathy  with  the  elements  of  which  the  mob  had 
been  composed.  An  investigation  which  was  looked  upon  sim- 
ply as  an  attempt  to  wreak  vengeance,  under  pretence  of  legal 
forms,  for  the  blood  that  had  been  shed  in  the  streets.  The  first 
of  these  forces  was  the  uncomfortable  position,  and  grievous 
complaints,  of  the  honest  and  orderly  miners,  who  felt  that  they 
had  been  compromised  by  the  mob  ;  and  who,  because  of  their 
relation  to  the  strike,  supposed  themselves  to  be  under  a  cloud 
of  suspicion  in  the  eyes  of  all  good  citizens.  These  workmen 
really  had  the  hearty  sympathy  of  the  great  body  of  the  citi- 
zens. It  was  well  understood  that  a  multitude,  if  not  a  ma- 
jority, of  the  best  miners  had  been  coerced  and  held  to  the 
strike  by  compulsion  ;  and  neither  the  mayor  nor  the  members 
of  the  special  police  had  ever  charged  them  with  insincerity 
in  their  promise  to  aid  in  the  putting  down  of  all  lawlessness 
in  the  city,  while  the  strike  should  continue. 

There  were  few,  if  any,  in  the  city  who  believed  that  they 


THE   RETURN  TIDE.  119 

had  really  anything  to  do  with,  or  any  power  to  control,  the 
mob,  which  was  organized  the  1st  of  August.  Even  the 
company  that  met  on  the  skirts  of  the  Round  Woods,  and 
were  seen  to  go  over  and  join  the  crowd  at  the  silk  mill,  were 
known  not  to  belong  to  the  best  class.  Their  great  mistake 
was  the  aid  they  lent  to  the  lawless  by  their  charges  against 
the  authorities  that  saved  the  city,  and  their  assumption  that 
there  was  no  mob,  even  when  they  knew  the  Mayor  had  been 
attacked  and  terribly  wounded.  They  asserted  that  it  was 
only  an  unarmed  crowd  who  desired,  by  force  of  numbers,  to 
compel  the  unfaithful  members  of  their  associations  to  leave 
the  shops  and  stand  to  duty  with  their  brethren.  It  was  as- 
serted that  the  clubs  said  to  have  been  used  were  simply  laths 
thoughtlessly  taken  from  the  lumber-yard  through  which  the 
people  passed  on  their  way,  and  that  any  demonstrations  of 
violence  that  might  have  been  made  were  made  by  thought- 
less and  irresponsible  boys,  who  may  have  fired  pistols  in  the 
air ;  but,  if  so,  it  was  only  as  a  vent  to  their  youthful  enthu- 
siasm. One  of  the  leaders  of  the  mob,  so  unfortunate  as  to 
lose  his  life  with  the  fire  of  the  special  police,  it  was  asserted, 
was  a  man  with  a  sick  family,  who  was  returning  from  a  drug- 
store with  medicine  for  his  children,  having  no  connection  with 
the  demonstration  except  as  a  casual  looker-on,  stopped  by 
the  crowd.  Yet  there  were  a  hundred  witnesses  of  his  brutal 
attack  upon  the  mayor,  and  half  a  dozen  victims  of  his  vio- 
lence before  he  reached  the  spot  where  he  fell.  These  state- 
ments, circulated  by  respectable  citizens,  excited  fears  in  the 
minds  of  conscientious  people  that  possibly  the  firing  squad 
had  been  hasty ;  and  apprehension  on  the  part  of  the  peaceful 
that  a  permanent  opposition  might  be  inaugurated  between 
the  citizens  and  the  workmen. 

The  other  fact  which  gave  cause  for  real  apprehension  was 
the  avowals  of  special  vengeance  upon  Mr.  W.  W.  Scranton; 
upon  whom,  without  evidence  or  even  inquiry,  the  responsi- 


120  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

bility  of  the  resistance  to  the  mob  was  placed  by  the  mass  of 
workmen.      The   feeling   against    Mr.    Scranton   among   the 
workmen  generally,  with  the  exception  of  those  under  his  im- 
mediate superintendency,  was  very  intense.     Since  the  strike 
of  1 87 1  his  reputation  among  the  strikers  had  been  that  of  an 
oppressor.     His  fearlessness  at  the  time  of  what  they  called 
the  long  strike,  and  his  connection  with  its  sudden  termination, 
had  inspired  the  mass  of  miners  with  a  fear  of  him.     His 
open  defiance  of  their  threats,  and  his  resistance  to  all  attempts 
to  interfere  with  the  workmen   under  his  charge,  had  estab- 
lished the  opinion  that  he  was  reckless  and  selfish,  with  small 
appreciation  of  human  life.     Mr.   Scranton   had  always  held 
such  an  agreement  with  his  hands  that  there  was  no  induce- 
ment for  them  to  join  in  a  strike,  as  he  promised  them  what- 
ever might  be  gained  by  the  strikers  if  they  should  remain  at 
work.     There  was  manifest  just  that  bitter  hatred  and  fear  of 
him  which  might  be  expected  to  hatch  schemes  of  assassina- 
tion and  arson,  in  order  to  put  him  out  of  the  way.    The  hatred 
of,  and  opposition  to,  him  were  so  intense  that  it  was  deemed 
hardly  safe  for  the  friends  of  order  and   law  to   defend   him. 
His  own  manifest  recklessness  of  danger,  and  his  brusque  way 
of  dealing  with  men  generally,  kept  alive  the  intensity  of  this 
passion.     The   loyal   citizens   appreciated  his  fidelity  to  order 
and  his  courage ;  but  a  large  number  of  them  were  persuaded 
that  confidence  between  the  workmen  and  corporations ;  and 
consequently  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  city  could  not  be  se- 
cured while  he  occupied  the  conspicuous  position  which  his 
character  and  services  had  won  for  him.     Through  the  influ- 
ence  of   politicians   without    conscience,   and    men   without 
character,  this  feeling  was  fanned,  fed,  and  intensified. 

Mr.  Scranton  and  those  associated  with  him  in  the  public 
defense  were  denounced  and  threatened,  and  all  manner  of 
falsehoods  touching  their  acts  and  intentions  were  circulated, 
until  the  great  body  of  the  best  citizens  felt  there  could  be 


THE   RETURN   TIDE.  121 

no  peace  in  the  city,  especially  after  the  militia  should  be 
withdrawn. 

This  conviction  culminated  on  Saturday,  August  4th,  four 
days  after  the  riot,  and  at  the  hour  when  the  bodies  of  the 
three  victims  were  borne  to  their  graves  in  a  quiet  funeral 
along  the  avenue,  in  which  hundreds  of  the  laborers  partici- 
pated. 

Mr.  Scranton's  friends,  all  excellent  and  judicious  citizens, 
advised  him  to  leave  the  city,  to  save  his  life  from  the  assas- 
sins, and  expressed  to  him  their  conviction  that  he  could 
never  hope  to  live  in  peace  and  safety  in  the  city  again. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Mr.  Scranton,  having 
respectfully  listened  to  this  expression  of  opinion,  and  being 
puzzled  by  it  as  to  what  might  be  his  duty,  called  upon  his 
pastor,  stated  the  facts  and  asked  for  advice.  He  was  at 
once  assured  that  it  would  most  certainly  prove  disastrous  to 
the  peace  of  the  city  for  him  to  leave  it  upon  the  demand  of  a 
set  of  men  who  were  bent  upon  unlawful  work.  He  was  told 
that  the  issue  had  been  joined  between  the  law-abiding  and  the 
lawless  forces  of  society,  and  this  was  no  time  for  any  true  man 
to  think  of  retiring  from  the  contest.  He  was  assured  that  the 
feeling,  so  bitter  against  himself,  would  speedily  be  manifested 
towards  his  companions  of  the  firing  squad,  if  he  should  van- 
ish; and  it  could  not  but  be  an  endless  disaster  to  the  city  to 
allow  the  lawless  element  to  drive  him  from  it.  He  was 
therefore  counseled  to  stand  as  his  conscience  and  brave 
spirit  had  taught  him,  and  was  assured  that  his  pastor  would 
stand  with  him,  and  if  necessary  watch  over  him  day  and 
night  while  the  danger  lasted. 

This  weakening  of  the  determination  of  the  good  people  to 
stand  upon  the  issue,  which  the  mayor  and  the  company  of 
special  police  had  made  with  the  lawless  spirit ;  manifested  by 
the  suggestion  that  the  man  who  had  made  himself  most 
obnoxious  to  the  mob  should  abandon  the  field,  determined 


122  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

the  pastor  to  make  the  question  of  openly  sustaining  the  au- 
thorities a  public  issue  of  religious  duty,  in  the  approaching 
Sabbath  worship.  He  gave  notice  accordingly;  and  when  the 
hour  of  public  worship  arrived  on  Sabbath  morning,  he  found 
a  large  gathering  of  the  people,  who  seemed  to  be  only  wait- 
ing for  some  one  to  voice  their  deepest  convictions  of  justice, 
of  truth  and  duty. 

Taking  for  his  theme  the  Scripture:  "The  wicked  flee  when 
no  man  pursueth,  but  the  righteous  are  as  bold  as  a  lion;"  he 
made  the  question  of  the  hour,  that  of  the,  war  of  order  against 
lawlessness.  He  said  that  "the  truth  of  the  first  statement  of 
the  text  had  been  demonstrated  in  these  streets,  and  all  about 
this  sanctuary,  four  days  ago,  when  a  handful  of  young  men, 
armed  for  the  protection  of  law,  met  the  hosts  of  infuriated 
men,  bent  upon  lawless  enterprise,  "when  one  was  made  to 
chase  a  thousand,  and  two  to  put  ten  thousand  to  flight." 

"  But  there  were  times  when  it  was  required  of  Christian 
men  and  women  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  second  propo- 
sition, 'The  righteous  are  as  bold  as  a  lion.'  There  are  times 
when  Christian  and  patriotic  duty  are  one.  Such  a  time  had 
come  to  the  people  of  this  city.  The  spirit  of  lawlessness  and 
anarchy,  which  has  been  sweeping  over  the  whole  land,  has 
come  here  also.  That  spirit  threatens  the  foundations  of  civil 
government,  and  seeks  to  give  license  to  all  evil  passions.  No 
man  who  fears  God  can  hesitate  to  imperil  his  life  in  the  effort 
to  meet  and  turn  back  such  a  flood  of  iniquity.  Citizenship 
and  Christian  duty  bring  here  responsibilities,  which  no  sacri- 
fice short  of  life  itself  can  ever  cancel.  The  spirit  abroad  is 
that  of  the  Commune;  generated  in  the  shades  of  moral  death, 
and  manifested  in  a  lawless  violence  which  can  only  be  sin.  A 
mob,  whatever  its  moving  cause,  its  aims  or  ends,  is  the  enemy 
of  God  and  man,  to  which  no  Christian  can  for  a  moment  yield 
voluntary  submission.  Therefore  he  adjured  his  auditors  to 
stand  fast  together  and  give  no  place  to  fear.     Let  there  be 


THE   RETURN  TIDE.  123 

no  temptation  to  the  mingling  of  questions  of  expediency  with 
the  questions  of  duty,  where  the  issues  are  simply  those  of  law, 
order,  and  life.  To  stand  with  the  right  is  to  stand  with  God, 
and  the  results  of  such  standing  are  all  with  Him. 

"  There  may  be,"  he  said,  "  at  the  present  time  a  struggle  be- 
tween capital  and  labor  of  heavy  import  to  both  parties — a  man- 
ly struggle,  whose  noise  and  absorbing  interest  may  attract 
the  attention  of  all  right-minded  men;  and  demand  that  the 
Christian  shall  take  sides  openly  with  the  right  against  the 
wrong,  or  give  his  strength  to  the  weak  as  against  the  strong. 
But  there  is  a  deeper,  a  more  vital  issue  involved  here  ;  even 
one  in  which  the  question  is  simply  that  of  the  supremacy  of 
law,  and  the  triumph  of  regulated  liberty  over  that  of  wicked 
license,  which  inaugurates  the  reign  of  sin  and  death.  Shall 
we  take  counsel  of  our  fears,  in  such  an  issue— especially  after 
God  has  given  us  such  a  victory  as  that  which  has  saved  honor, 
as  well  as  the  city,  at  such  small  expense  of  life  ?  Shall  our 
brave  young  men,  who  risked  their  lives  to  snatch  the  city  and 
its  executive  from  the  hands  of  a  mob,  go  skulking  through 
these  streets  as  if  they  were  the  breakers  of  the  law,  instead  of 
its  defenders?     Shall  our  sons  be  set  to  defend  themselves 

BECAUSE   THEY    HAVE    DEFENDED    THE   CITY?       Or  shall  they  be 

counselled  to  hide  themselves  for  fear  of  offending  or  exciting 
those  who  trample  upon  law?  God  forbid!  The  bloody  hand 
of  fraternal  strife  will  be  lifted  up  for  a  generation  in  our  coun- 
try if  our  people  are  recreant  to  patriotic  duty  now.  We 
will  prove  ourselves  unworthy,  both  of  our  fathers  and  of  the 
precious  heritage  of  regulated  liberty  which  they  have  given 
us,  if  we  hesitate  for  a  moment  when  the  issue  is  made  as  to 
whether  the  city  is  to  be  governed  by  the  constituted  authority, 
or  by  an  independent  association,  however  honest  the  men  who 
constitute  it.  This  is  no  time  to  listen  to  the  suggestions  of 
prudent  fears,  or  expediency;  no  time  to  discuss  and  adjust  side 
issues — to  redress  grievances,  or  to  remodel  existing  relations 


124  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

between  classes,  when  men  are  busy  with  the  effort  to  uproot 
sacred  personal  liberty,  and  righteous  law.  The  duty  of  the 
hour  is  to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  as  men,  for  the  main- 
tenance and  triumph  of  what  we  know  to  be  right,  let  it  hurt 
whom  it  will.  Let  us  walk  these  streets  as  if  we  owned  them  ; 
and  meant  to  own  them,  against  every  usurping  sovereignty, 
from  whatever  quarter  it  may  come;  and  let  us  give  thanks  to 
God  that  He  has  given  us  such  noble  sons,  who  did  not  turn 
back  in  the  day  of  peril  and  terror." 

The  effect  of  this  pointed  appeal  began  to  be  manifest  imme- 
diately. The  citizens  began  at  once  to  gather  about  the  Mayor 
and  his  guard,  and  to  rebuke  the  spirit  of  lawlessness  openly. 
It  began  to  be  recognized  as  an  honor  to  belong  to  the  Citi- 
zens' Company,  and  even  to  Mr.  Scranton's  coal  and  iron  police ; 
which  he  took  steps  to  have  organized  according  to  law  shortly 
afterwards,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  Carl  W. 
McKinney. 

Meanwhile  the  ex-parte  coroner's  inquest  was  being  con- 
ducted in  a  quarter  into  which  the  defenders  of  the  city  deemed 
it  dangerous  to  go  without  an  escort.  The  leading  lawyer  then 
in  the  city  was  Isaac  J.  Post,  Esq.,  of  the  firm  of  Hand  &  Post. 
He  was  a  man  whose  Christian  character,  whose  genial  soul, 
sense  of  justice,  and  high  scholarship,  especially  in  the  law,  had 
won  the  respect  of  all  classes,  and  endeared  him  to  all  the  best 
citizens  of  Scranton.  He,  at  the  suggestion  of  responsible 
men,  undertook  the  work  of  protecting  the  young  men  and  the 
Mayor  from  the  legal  meshes  which  the  Alderman  and  his 
counsellors  were  attempting  to  weave  about  them.  The  Hon. 
John  Brisbin,  of  New  York,  volunteered  to  assist  him  ;  and  they 
visited  the  Alderman's  court  only  to  find  a  state  of  unreasona- 
ble passion.  These  lawyers  deemed  it  wise  to  give  promise 
that  whenever  this  court  should  conclude  whom  they  wanted 
of  the  defenders  of  the  city,  these  men  should  be  forthcoming, 
if  proper  notice  were  given.     With  this  agreement  they  re- 


>i 


^i<^r 


THE  RETURN   TIDE.  125 

tired,  leaving  detectives,  procured  by  Mr.  Brisbin,  to  report  to 
them  the  progress  and  the  conclusion  of  the  investigation. 

On  the  6th  of  August  a  council  of  citizens  sent  a  committee, 
of  which  Pastor  Logan  was  chairman,  to  these  attorneys  with 
the  suggestion  that  proper  legal  steps  should  be  taken  to  re- 
move the  investigation  from  the  hands  of  the  Alderman,  and 
place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Coroner  of  the  County.  It  was 
supposed  by  them,  from  consultation  with  legal  counsel,  that 
the  Alderman  of  the  Sixth  Ward  had  no  legal  right  to  make 
such  an  investigation,  as  the  men  were  killed  in  the  Eighth 
Ward,  and  the  law  required,  in  the  absence  of  the  Coroner,  that 
the  Alderman  of  that  Ward  should  have  had  charge  of  the  in- 
vestigation. The  lawyers  declined  to  do  this,  but  promised  to 
keep  the  Citizens'  Committee  posted,  and  act  with  them  in  all 
measures  proposed  to  secure  the  safety  of  the  young  men. 

The  angry,  and  dangerous,  spirit  of  the  strikers  was  mani- 
fested during  the  whole  time  this  investigation  was  proceed- 
ing, and  all  signs  of  resumption  of  work  disappeared.  The 
city  was  in  the  hands  of  the  militia,  with  General  Huidekoper 
in  command.  He  was  both  a  judicious  and  efficient  officer, 
and  repressed  all  attempts  to  create  disturbance  with  great 
promptness.  Under  his  counsels  the  Citizens'  Company  were 
relieved  from  all  duty,  and  the  members  of  it  went  to  their 
homes,  and  their  business. 

It  was  thought  that  such  abandonment  of  the  organization, 
during  the  stay  of  the  soldiers  from  abroad,  might  hasten  the 
quieting  of  the  evil  passions,  which  their  effective  work  had 
excited.  For  three  days  there  was  no  assembly  of  the  com- 
pany, and  the  young  men  attended  to  their  business  ;  being 
careful  to  keep  themselves  in  safe  quarters  during  the  night. 
More  conspicuous  ones,  who  were  known  to  be  specially 
obnoxious  to  the  friends  of  the  victims,  were  warned  of  the 
danger  which  might  overtake  them,  and  nothing  was  left 
undone  by  their  friends  which  was  deemed  needful  to  save 
them  from  the  hands  of  assassins. 


126  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Many  of  the  miners  and  laborers  had  become  greatly  em- 
bittered, and  put  forth  more  strenuous  efforts  to  continue  the 
strike ;  and  the  lawless  element,  that  segregated  naturally  where 
there  was  idleness,  drifted  about  the  movements  of  the  strikers, 
greatly  to  the  annoyance  of  their  best  men,  and  fanned  the 
fires  of  passion  wherever  they  gave  signs  of  dying  out.  One 
of  the  newspapers  of  the  city,  too,  from  day  to  day,  added  its 
force  to  the  evil  counsel  of  angry  men ;  and  the  whole  brood 
of  demagogues,  who  professed  to  serve  the  laboring  men,  in 
order  to  gain  their  votes  at  the  approaching  election,  carried 
on  their  nefarious  trade  with  great  perseverance  and  energy ; 
and,  alas !  with  too  much  success.  The  foul  spirit  and  prac- 
tices of  the  "  Molly  Maguire  "  moved  in  and  about  the  city, 
dropping  mysterious  warnings,  here  and  there,  to  intimidate 
honest  men,  and  threats  of  vengeance  upon  all  who  had  main- 
tained the  dignity  of  the  law. 

The  strikers  opened  a  sort  of  co-operative  and  benevolent 
store  in  Hyde  Park,  to  sell  cheap  supplies  to  the  needy  work- 
men, who  were  not  only  refusing  work,  but  forbidding  all 
others  to  enter  the  mines.  They  sent  out  wagons  among 
the  farmers  and  solicited  gifts  of  grain  and  vegetables.  They 
accumulated  quite  a  supply,  and  made  the  impression  that  the 
whole  country  was  upon  the  side  of  the  strikers.  The  pump- 
ing engines  were  visited  by  night  at  different  points,  and 
attempts  were  made  to  intimidate  the  engineers.  Vagabonds 
grew  bold  in .  the  darkness,  and  tried  to  strike  the  faithful 
militiamen  of  the  National  Guard  with  apprehensions  of  per- 
sonal danger. 

The  progress  of  the  Sixth  Ward  investigation  was  carefully 
watched,  and  every  plan  and  fact  reported  by  a  process  en- 
tirely unknown  to  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  it.  Prepara- 
tions were  made  to  checkmate  their  movements  the  moment 
they  should  become  dangerous.  Governor  Hartranft  issued 
his  order  to  the  Major-General   in  command,  to  protect  the 


THE   RETURN  TIDE.  127 

young  men  against  all  violence,  and  to  place  them  in  charge 
of  the  militia  if  need  should  arise.  The  alderman  completed 
his  investigations  at  noon,  on  Wednesday  the  8th  of  August, 
just  eight  days  after  the  mob  had  been  dispersed,  and  a  ver- 
dict with  a  charge  of  "  murder  in  the  first  degree  "  was  brought 
in  against  twenty-two  respectable  citizens ;  not  one  of  whom 
had  been  allowed  either  to  be  present  or  have  a  representative 
before  the  magistrate.  Seven  of  these  men  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  firing  upon  the  mob,  and  some  of  them  were 
squares  away  when  the  firing  took  place.  *The  recorded  testi- 
mony upon  which  the  indictment  was  made  afforded  prima 
facie  evidence  of  the  true  spirit  and  character  of  the  proceed- 
ings. 

Although  promises  were  made  by  the  men  having  the  inquest 
in  hand  that  nothing  should  be  done  before  the  next  day,  un- 
der pretence  of  the  illness  of  the  attorney,  who  was  the  Al- 
derman's counselor,  and  who  drew  up  all  the  papers ;  and  not- 
withstanding the  assurances  given  by  Mr.  Post,  that  any  num- 
ber of  the  firing  squad  who  might  be  called  for  should  be  pro- 
duced in  open  court  as  soon  as  they  might  be  needed,  writs  were 
issued  against  these  gentlemen  immediately,  and  a  squad  of 
constables  was  sent  out  to  seize  them  as  the  shadows  of  the 
night  began  to  fall. 

One  of  these  officers  approached  Lewis  C.  Bortree,  who  sat 
on  the  veranda  of  the  Forest  House ;  but  when  yet  twenty 
paces  away  he  was  discovered  by  Bortree,  who  immediately 
drew  his  pistol  and  ordered  the  officer  to  stop  where  he  was. 
Bortree,  who  was  himself  a  deputy  sheriff,  then  assured  the 
official  that  he  was  willing  to  be  taken  at  any  time  before  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  but  after  that  hour,  on  any  day,  he 
would  not  be  taken  alive.  The  constable  quietly  retired  with 
the  writ  unserved. 

Another  constable  with  a  posse,  from  the  Sixth  Ward,  ap- 
peared, just  as   the   gas  was   being  lighted,  at  the  door  of 


128  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Charles  E.  Chittenden's  drug-store.  Leaving  his  associates 
on  the  sidewalk,  the  officer  entered  and  served  his  writ  on  Mr. 
Chittenden,  who  at  once  understood  the  perils  of  his  position. 
With  his  revolver  in  hand,  he  proposed  terms  to  this  limb 
of  the  law,  which  he  was  constrained  quietly  to  accept. 
These  terms  were  that  they  should  go  out  together  by  the 
back  door,  and  avoid  the  company  of  helpers  stationed  at  the 
front ;  that  the  officer  should  first  accompany  Mr.  Chittenden 
to  his  lawyer,  and  allow  the  attorney  to  go  with  him  before 
the  magistrate.  They  passed  out  the  back  way  and  down  the 
alley,  with  the  question  unsettled  whether  the  officer  had  the 
prisoner,  or  the  prisoner  the  officer  in  charge.  Passing  into 
Washington  Avenue,  the  officer  paused  at  the  handsome  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Theodore  F.  Hunt,  of  the  firm  of  Hunt  Broth- 
ers, before  whose  business  house  the  firing  had  taken  place, 
and  took  him  also  in  charge.  Mr.  Hunt  was  one  of  the  most 
respectable  and  peaceably  inclined  citizens  of  the  city,  and  had 
nothing  more  to  do  with  either  the  mob  or  the  police  than  to 
use  all  diligence  to  shield  himself  and  his  associates  from  the 
mortal  danger,  into  which  they  found  themselves  suddenly 
cast,  when  his  business  corner  became  the  meeting  place  of 
the  forces. 

He  was  sitting  in  peace  upon  his  own  porch,  feeling  entirely 
secure  in  his  conscious  innocence,  watching  the  people  gath- 
ing  to  the  evening  worship  in  the  church  opposite,  when  the 
officer,  with  his  prisoner  approached  and  captured  him  also, 
with  his  writ  from  the  aldermen's  court,  on  the  charge  of  pre- 
meditated murder.  After  a  short  parley,  Mr.  Hunt  offered  his 
parole  of  honor  to  remain  on  his  own  porch  until  the  officer 
should  return  from  accompanying  his  other  captive  to  Mr. 
Post's  residence,  which  was  about  three  squares  away.  This 
parole  was  accepted  through  the  exhortations  of  Mr.  Chitten- 
den, and  his  revolver,  by  the  officer,  who  asserted  that  he  only 
desired  to  do  his  official  duty.     So  the  two  men,  the  officer 


THE   RETURN   TIDE.  129 

and  his  prisoner  walked,  with    quiet  dignity,  up  the  avenue 
together. 

About  the  time  of  the  parley,  which  was  being  held  on  Mr. 
Hunt's  porch,  a  lad  who  had  been  on  the  watch  for  some 
hours  for  the  appearance  of  the  alderman's  missives,  found  the 
man  who  had  given  him  the  charge  to  watch,  and  made  the 
announcement  that  Mr.  Chittenden  had  been  taken.  Within 
two  minutes  more  this  lad,  with  the  help  of  Carl  W.  McKin- 
ney,  had  the  ear  of  General  Huidekoper,  and,  six  minutes 
afterwards,  the  General  sat  quietly  beside  Mr.  Hunt  on  his 
porch,  with  two  companies  of  his  command  at  a  carry  in  the 
street,  in  front.  Here  they  waited  in  silence  the  return  of  the 
officer  with  his  prisoner,  accompanied  by  his  attorney. 

Just  then,  a  well-meaning  gentleman,  burdened  with  more 
nerves  than  judgment,  having  heard  the  rumors  of  the  move- 
ment of  the  avengers  of  blood,  rushed  to  the  church  where  a 
number  of  young  men,  known  to  be  liable  to  arrest,  were 
gathered,  and  disturbed  the  meeting  with  an  announcement 
that,  but  for  the  coolness  of  the  pastor,  would  have  ended  in 
a  panic.  The  young  men  were  calmly  notified  to  report 
quietly  at  headquarters,  and  runners  were  sent  forth  at  once, 
to  find  all  the  members  of  the  Citizens'  Corps,  and  bring  them 
to  places  of  safety,  within  military  lines.  Just  as  the  pastor  had 
succeeded  in  getting  the  last  of  his  people  quietly  away  from 
the  church-gate,  the  officer  and  his  escort  approached  Mr. 
Hunt's  residence  without  any  knowledge  of  what  had  been 
done.  Seeing  the  two  lines  of  soldiers  motionless,  and  reach- 
ing from  the  gate  to  an  indefinite  distance  down  the  street, 
Mr.  Post  suggested,  in  a  gentle  voice,  to  Chittenden,  that  this 
was  his  chance.  With  a  charge  to  the  lawyer  not  to  allow 
the  officer  to  shoot  the  prisoner  in  the  back,  Chittenden  made 
a  rush  within  the  file  of  soldiers,  with  the  officer  close  at  his 
heels,  and  was  caught  just  as  he  came  face  to  face  with  the 
General.  The  military  man  seemed  not  at  all  flustered  or  ex- 
9 


130  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

cited  by  this  sudden  rush  through  his  lines  of  two  men  with- 
out the  countersign.  He  simply  inquired  with  the  energy  and 
manner  of  a  man  who  had  faced  the  fire  of  Gettysburg,  and 
left  an  arm  as  a  token  of  his  patriotism:  "Who  are  you?"  to 
the  first  comer.  When  informed,  by  the  well-blown  citizen, 
that  his  name  was  Chittenden,  he  coolly  answered:  "Why, 
you  are  the  man  we  have  been  looking  for — glad  to  see  you." 
Then  laying  his  hand  on  the  prisoner's  shoulder,  he  informed 
the  constable  that  he  might  consider  himself  relieved  from  any 
further  charge  of  these  two  men  during  the  night — that  the 
prisoners  were  now  in  safe  hands,  and  should  be  produced  to 
legitimate  authorities  in  due  time  ;  or  at  any  time  after  day- 
light should  come.  The  officer  protested,  and  appealed  with 
anxious  gentleness  to  know  where  he  should  go,  and  what 
return  he  should  make  to  the  alderman  of  his  writs.  The 
General  had  no  information  to  give  him  as  to  his  legal  respon- 
sibilities, or  as  to  any  specific  direction  he  might  take  in  his 
travel,  "but  he  could  assure  him  that  his  present  locality  was 
an  exceedingly  unhealthy  one,  for  a  man  of  his  burdens  and 
convictions." 

The  General  marched  his  men  to  the  Mayor's  headquarters, 
having  the  two  prisoners  in  charge ;  and  immediately  steps 
were  taken  to  prevent,  and  circumvent,  any  further  deeds  of 
darkness  which  might  be  undertaken  by  the  avengers  of  blood, 
under  the  forms  and  pretence  of  law.  Within  an  hour  all 
the  members  of  the  Citizens'  Corps,  with  the  citizens  charged 
in  the  jury's  finding,  were  collected  at  the  Mayor's  head 
quarters.  A  wave  of  excitement  and  indignation  swept  over 
the  city  as  the  knowledge  of  the  attempted  arrests  became 
general.  An  hour  later  that  indignation  reached  a  white-heat, 
when  scouts  and  detectives  had  succeeded  in  uncovering  the 
diabolical  plans  of  these  men. 

The  intentions  of  these  pretended  executors  of  law,  it  was 
supposed,  was  to  bring  a  number  of  the  citizens  involved  in  the 


THE  RETURN  TIDE.  131 

mastery  of  the  mob,  before  the  aldermen,  and  have  them  com- 
mitted to  jail  on  the  charge  of  murder,  and  then  carry  them  in 
wagons  to  Wilkes-Barre,  the  same  night,  to  place  them  in 
the  jail.  The  whole  way  down  the  valley  was  known  to  be  in 
a  lawless  condition — filled  with  tramps  and  worthless,  bloody- 
minded,  men,  who  called  themselves  workmen  and  strikers. 
The  first  part  of  the  way  lay  directly  through  the  region 
where  the  leaders  who  had  lost  their  lives  in  the  mob  had 
lived,  and  where  their  friends  were  busy  keeping  alive  the 
thoughts  of  vengeance. 

Two  miles  below  the  city  a  crowd  of  these  people  gathered 
that  night,  armed  with  various  implements,  and  waited  for  the 
expected  carriages  with  their  loads  of  prisoners,  according  to 
the  report  of  the  scouts.  But  the  prisoners  did  not  come. 
The  acting  coroner  and  his  advisers  had  to  deal  with  men  to 
whom  their  plans  were  transparent;  and  while  they  used  all 
diligence  to  quiet  the  indignation,  that  was  in  danger  of 
breaking  out  into  bloody  work  against  all  strikers,  and  es- 
pecially against  the  demagogues  who  used  them  for  their  ne- 
farious ends,  these  men  girded  the  city  with  a  cordon  of  men 
whose  muskets  would  have  made  quick  work  with  any  num- 
ber bent  on  an  invasion  of  the  city  that  night. 


132  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  ARREST  AND   TRIAL   OF  THE  CITY'S   DEFENDERS. 

The  Law-breakers  become  the  Vindicators  of  Law — Justice  run  Riot — Change  of 

Base,  but  no  Change  of  Issued. 

ALL  night  long  the  Citizens'  Corps,  with  the  men  who 
had  been  wickedly  charged,  under  pretence  of  justice, 
were  kept  in  the  company's  store  while  their  friends  watched 
with  them.  During  the  night  it  was  determined  that  if  the 
alderman's  writs  were  not  served  in  the  morning,  and  an 
open  procedure  under  forms  of  law  made  manifest,  the  matter 
should  be  taken  in  hand,  and  the  whole  body  of  the  defenders 
of  the  city,  against  the  mob  of  August  first,  should  be  taken  to 
Wilkes-Barre  and  placed  under  the  authority  of  the  court. 

In  accordance  with  this  determination,  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  9th  of  August  the  following  corrrespondence  took 
place,  to  wit: 

"Scranton,  August  9th,  1877. 
"P.  Mahon,  Esq.,  Acting  Coroner. 

"Dear  Sir:  I  am  requested  by  General  Huidekoper  to  say  that  he 
is  ready  at  the  hour  you  shall  name,  this  a.m.,  to  deliver  to  you  the 
parties  for  whom  you  have  issued  warrants  on  the  finding  of  the  jury. 
Please  name  the  hour,  place  and  persons,  and  they  will  promptly  re- 
spond. 

"Respectfully  yours,  Robert  H.  McKtjne,  Mayor." 

An  hour  afterwards  the  following  reply  came  to  hand: 

"Scranton,  August  9th,  1877. 
"R.  H.  McKune,  Mayor. 

"  Sir  :  In   reply  to   yours  of  this   date,  informing   me  that  General 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.      133 

Huidekoper  says  "he  is  ready  at  the  hour  you  [I]  shall  name  this 
morning  to  deliver  to  you  [me]  the  parties  for  whom  you  [I]  have  issued 
warrants  on  the  finding  of  the  jury,"  I  would  say  that  neither  General 
Huidekoper  nor  any  other  man  in  this  land  has  any  right  to  prevent 
the  arrest  and  commitment  of  any  person  found  guilty  of  murder  by  a 
coroner's  jury,  and  the  constables  that  have  the  warrants  of  commit- 
ment for  the  persons  so  found  guilty  of  murder  will  not  proceed  to  act 
under  such  warrants  until  the  said  Huidekoper  and  the  military  under 
him  cease  to  obstruct  them  in  the  performance  of  their  duty. 
"  Respectfully  yours,  P.  Mahon, 

"  Alderman  and  Acting  Coroner." 

On  the  same  morning  there  was  published,  in  the  paper 
which  had  given  itself  to  the  support  of  this  business,  the  ver- 
dict of  the  jury  with  a  summary  of  the  testimony  upon  which 
it  was  based.  To  the  average  mind  it  would  be  hard  to  de- 
cide which  was  the  more  remarkable,  the  testimony  or  the 
verdict;  or  which  suggested  the  other.  To  an  honest  man 
seeking  the  truth,  it  would  be  impossible  clearly  to  determine 
whether  the  testimony  had  been  taken,  and  a  verdict  drawn 
from  it,  or  the  verdict  had  first  been  written  and  the  testimony 
published  to  fit  it.  More  than  a  dozen  witnesses  testified  to 
their  being  present  in  view  of  the  firing  squad,  and  most  of 
them  among  the  mob ;  but  none  of  them  saw  any  violence 
nor  provocation  on  the  part  of  the  people.  One  club,  of  some 
sort,  thrown  by  a  boy  was  all  that  was  visible  to  these  wit- 
nesses. They  knew  nothing  of  the  beating  of  the  Mayor,  al- 
though all  of  them  saw  him  in  company  with  the  courageous 
priest.  Of  the  men  with  guns,  however,  they  had  clear  vision 
up  to  the  first  volley ;  after  which  the  witnesses  all  seemed  to 
grow  hazy  and  uncertain.  They  testify  to  seeing  men  in  the 
ranks  who  were  half  a  mile  away,  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
encounter  until  it  was  over.  One  witness  even  saw  Captain 
Ripple  the  first  day  of  his  testifying,  but  ere  the  inquest 
closed  he  came  back  and  corrected  his  testimony  with  the 
statement  that  Ripple  was  not  there ;  but  he  does  not  tell  us 


134  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

how  he  learned  he  was  not ;  nor  does  he  even  seem  to  have 
been  asked.  Not  a  witness  who  knew  anything  of  the  doings 
of  the  mob  seems  to  have  been  sworn ;  but  the  verdict  was 
quite  decided  and  definite.  It  announced  a  three-fold  indict- 
ment of  murder,  against  twenty-one  men,  more  or  less  defi- 
nitely named,  and  sundry  others  to  the  jurors  unknown,  to 
wit : — "  So  the  said  W.  W.  Scranton,  W.  Paterson,  William 
Kiesel,  L.  C.  Bortree,  C.  W.  McKinney,  Charles  Chittenden, 
Wharton  Dickinson,  Ezra  Ripple,  George  Throop,  Daniel 
Bartholomew,  one  Highfield,  A.  E.  Hunt,  T.  F.  Hunt,  John 
Stanton,  F.  L.  Hitchcock,  Lawyer  Knapp,  J.  C.  Highriter,  J. 
A.  Linnen,  Doctor  Smith,  Jeff.  Roesler,  Charles  Burr,  one 
Brown,  clerk  or  partner  in  Hunt  Brothers  &  Co.,  and  others 
to  the  jury  unknown,  then  and  there,  feloniously,  violently, 
willfully,  deliberately,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought,  killed 
and  murdered  the  said  Patrick  Langan,  Charles  Dunlavy,  and 
Patrick  Lane,  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  Common- 
wealth." To  this  conclusion  the  Alderman  and  his  jurors  af- 
fixed their  seals,  to  wit : — "  Patrick  Mahon,  Acting  Coroner, 
Martin  J.  Jordan,  Foreman,  James  T.  Duffy,  James  Gregory, 
James  Carroll,  Nicholas  Gantz  and  Thomas  Coar." 

\As  soon  as  the  Mayor  had  received  the  communication  from 
the  Alderman,  declining  to  make  any  further  movement  toward 
arresting  the  accused  until  the  military  should  leave  him  a  clear 
field,  it  was  determined  to  take  steps  at  once  to  place  the  young 
men  under  the  protection  of  a  reliable  court.  All  the  force 
under  the  charge  of  Deputy-Sheriff  D.  O.  McCollum,  accom- 
panied by  a  large  body  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  city,  left  about 
noon  for  Wilkesbarre  by  special  train,  escorted  by  two  com- 
panies of  militia  to  protect  them  from  the  dangers  of  the  way. 
They  arrived  in  safety,  and  upon  complaint,"or  formal  informa- 
tion, made  by  Mr.  John  C.  Phelps,  one  of  their  friends,  they 
were  brought  before  Alderman  W.  S.  Parsons,  who  issued 
warrants  for  their  arrest.     They  appeared,  waived  a  hearing, 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.      135 

and  were  committed  to  the  charge  of  the  Sheriff,  who  allowed 
them  the  liberty  of  the  city  on  parole  until  the  next  morning. 
In  the  meanwhile  application  was  made  to  the  Judge  of  the- 
Court  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  returnable  the  next  day. 
The  afternoon  of  the  same  day  Charles  E.  Rice,  Esq.,  the  Dis- 
trict Attorney  and  afterwards  the  President  Judge  of  Luzerne 
County,  received  the  following  communication,  to  wit : 

"Scranton  City,  August  9th,  1877. 
"  C.  E.  Rice,  Esq., 

"  District  Attorney  of  Luzerne  County,  Pa.  : 

"You  are  expected  to  see  to  it  that  the  persons,  now  on  the  way 
to  Wilkesbarre  to  surrender  themselves  up  for  the  murder  of  Patrick 
Lane,  Charles  Dunlavy  and  Patrick  Langan,  be  not  allowed  to  escape 
justice.  If  they  apply  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  you  will  please  send 
for  the  witnesses  sworn  before  the  Coroner's  Jury. 

"  (Signed)  John  E.  Evans, 

"  Chairman  of  Workingmen's  Prosecuting  Committee." 

To  this  Attorney  Rice  immediately  replied  by  telegraph : 
"John  E.  Evans, 

"Chairman  of  Workingmen's  Prosecuting  Committee,  Scranton,  Pa.  : 

"Send  witnesses  down  to-morrow  morning,  at  9  o'clock.  Get. 
subpoenas  at  Alderman  Mahon's. 

"Charles  E.  Rice, 

"  District  Attorney." 

Application  was  made,  as  has  been  stated,  to  one  of  the 
judges  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  which  was  granted,  and 
made  returnable  on  the  next  morning,  at  9  o'clock,  when  a 
hearing  should  be  given  them. 

On  that  morning,  August  10th,  the  Scranton  Times,  which 
at  that  time  claimed  to  represent  the  Democratic  party,  but 
which  had  set  itself  persistently  to  the  work  of  catering  to  the 
evil  feeling,  and  of  keeping  alive  the  worst  passions  of  the 
strikers,  came  out  with  the  following  caution  and  advice  to  the 
Judges  of  the  Court : 


136  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

"  We  understand  the  commitments  made  out  by  Alderman  Mahon 
have  all  been  returned  to  him  because  of  the  difficulty  with  the  military 
in  executing  the  same;  and  that  it  is  the  intention  to  retain  those  com- 
mitments until  such  times  as  each  one  of  the  vigilantes  charged  with  the 
murder  of  those  men  can  be  arrested  and  lodged  in  jail,  like  other  felons. 
God  help  the  Judges  in  Luzerne  County  that  undertake  to  treat  this  matter 
in  any  other  manner  than  the  law  provides.  We  caution  Judges  Hard- 
ing, Dana  and  Handley  to  have  a  care  how  they  move  in  this  matter. 
We  want  them  to  understand,  and  the  corporations  too,  that  there  is  but 
one  law  in  this  country  for  the  rich  and  the  poor.  '  Hell  on  earth '  would 
be  nothing  compared  to  what  will  take  place  in  this  country  if  the  Judges 
fail  to  do  their  whole  duty  in  this  matter." 

The  judges  did  not  appear  to  be  greatly  moved  by  this 
morning  salutation  from  the  demagogue,  who  wished  to  be 
known  as  the  poor  man's  friend,  at  least  until  the  approaching 
election  forjudge  had  passed;  but  called  the  prisoners  to  the 
bar,  with  a  quiet  wonder  that  so  large  a  number  of  such  re- 
spectable looking  murderers  should  be  gathered  into  one 
court  at  the  same  time. 

The  venerable  ex-judge  W.  G.  Ward,  long  the  veteran  of 
the  Scranton  Bar ;  Isaac  J.  Post,  who  for  years  afterwards  was 
recognized  as  the  leading  lawyer  of  the  city ;  and  Edward  B. 
Sturges,  a  promising  young  man,  who  was  very  popular  with 
the  young  men,  with  the  Hon.  H.  W.  Palmer,  afterwards 
Attorney-General  of  the  State,  and  the  Hon.  Stanley  Wood- 
ward, afterwards  Additional  Law-Judge  of  Luzerne  County, 
both  of  Wilkesbarre;  all  appeared  as  counsel  for  the  Scranton 
prisoners. 

The  Court  delayed  action  until  almost  noon,  waiting  to 
hear  from  the  Workingmen's  Prosecuting  Committee,  and  for 
the  appearance  of  the  Alderman  and  his  witnesses.  But  when 
it  became  evident  that  these  special  preservers  of  law,  and  vin- 
dicators of  justice,  did  not  propose  to  notice  this  Court,  the 
case  was  called  by  Judge  Harding,  who,  addressing  the  Dis- 
trict Attorney,  said  :  "  Mr.  Rice,  a  writ  is  before  me,  in  which 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.      137 

the  parties  named  desire  that  the  cause  of  their  detention, 
which  they  allege  to  be  unjust,  may  be  inquired  into,  and  such 
order  be  made  as  will  be  in  accordance  with  law  and  justice. 
Mr.  Sheriff,  are  the  parties  named  in  the  writ  before  the 
Court  ?  "     That  officer  answered,  "  They  are  present." 

Judge  Ward  and  Mr.  Palmer  both  asked  to  be  heard  for 
the  defendants,  but  the  judge  replied  :  "  We  can  hear  no  testi- 
mony for  the  defense,  only  for  the  prosecution." 

Mr.  Rice  then  said,  "Your  Honor,  I  have  no  witnesses;  I 
had  notice  of  this  writ  yesterday,  and  was  in  communication 
with  one  John  E.  Evans,  of  Scranton,  styling  himself  '  Chair- 
man of  the  Workingmen's  Prosecuting  Committee.'  I  sent 
subpoenas  and  notified  him  of  the  hearing  at  this  time,  but  I 
cannot  learn  that  there  are  any  witnesses  present.  I  under- 
stand from  the  attorney  of  the  defendants,  that  they  are  wil- 
ling to  waive  a  hearing  and  enter  any  reasonable  bail  for  their 
appearance  at  Court.  I  would  suggest,  therefore,  that  they 
be  put  under  bail,  which  shall  amount,  upon  the  whole,  to 
#10,000." 

After  a  few  moments'  conversation  with  the  attorneys,  the 
judge  announced  the  decision  of  the  Court,  that  the  prisoners 
"  should  be  severally  held  in  the  sum  of  $3000  for  their  ap- 
pearance at  the  next  term  of  court,  when  bills  of  indictment 
will  be  laid  before  the  grand  jury." 

Judge  Harding  followed  this  order  with  a  short  address,  as 
follows : 

"We  have  been  absent  during  the  late  turmoil  in  this  county,  and 
know  very  little  of  the  facts;  but  it  may  as  well  be  understood  now  as 
at  any  other  time,  by  all,  that  this  is  a  country  of  law,  and  the  majesty 
of  the  law  will  be  maintained.  And  those  misguided  men  who  may  mo- 
mentarily triumph  over  law,  must  be  made  to  understand  that  if  we  have 
not  the  power  at  home  to  preserve  the  peace,  the  power  of  the  common- 
wealth will  be  invoked  to  assist  us.  If  that  should  be  inadequate,  the 
power  of  the  nation  will  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  violators  of  law 


138  A  CITY'S   DANGER   AND    DEFENSE. 

and  order,  and  the  punishment  to  follow  will  be  certain  and  terrible  to 
the  offenders. 

"  I  have  no  further  care  or  responsibility  in  this  than  in  any  other  case 
that  may  come  before  me.  I  have  simply  discharged  my  dnty,  and  these 
men  are  here  to  be  dealt  with  as  the  law  directs.  They  have  complied 
with  the  requirements  of  the  law,  and  they  must  go  hence  in  peace  ;  and 
all  persons  are  cautioned  against  molesting  them  in  the  enjoyment  of 
their  individual  liberty.  The  magistrate,  who  was  the  acting  coroner, 
and  the  constables  holding  the  warrants  for  their  arrest,  as  I  am  in- 
formed, should  be  notified  that  these  parties  are  now  in  the  custody  of 
the  court,  to  be  dealt  with  as  the  law  directs,  and  I  now  repeat,  Let  us 
hear  no  more  about  this  business  until  the  court  meets  in  regular  term." 

The  prisoners  were  then  called  upon,  one  by  one,  and 
entered  bail.  Each,  as  called,  stood  at  the  bar  with  an  ap- 
proved bondsman  by  his  side,  and  entered  into  bonds  of 
$3000  for  his  appearance  when  the  court  should  call  for  him, 
and  as  soon  as  this  work  was  completed  they  were  all  dis- 
charged from  custody. 

There  were  fifty-three  young  men  placed  in  these  bonds, 
all  of  them  bearing  good  characters,  and  belonging  to  the  best 
society  and  business  associations  of  Scranton.  The  list  of 
these  men  we  preserve  here,  with  the  names  of  their  bonds- 
men, as  an  interesting  historical  memento,  and  a  valuable  wit- 
ness of  the  wide  interest  felt  in  the  issue  which  divided  the 
city  at  the  time.  Five  times  the  amount  of  the  bail  required 
by  the  court  could  have  been  secured  without  going  outside 
of  the  court-room. 

The  names  of  the  accused  and  of  their  bondsmen  were 
as  follows: 

Prisoners.  Bondsmen. 

W.  W.  Scranton.  Walter  Scranton. 

Wm.  W.  Paterson,  A.  B.  Stevens. 

Wm.  F.  Kiesel,  W.  W.  Manness. 

L.  C.  Bortree,  Jos.  Godfrey. 

C.  W.  McKinney,  W.  W.  Manness. 

Chas.  E.  Chittenden,  C.  H.  Welles. 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.      139 


Wharton  Dickinson, 
Ezra  H.  Ripple, 
T.  F.  Hunt, 
John  O.  Stanton, 
F.  L.  Hitchcock, 
H.  A.  Knapp, 
J.  C.  Highriter, 
J.  A.  Linen, 
M.  D.  Smith, 
Jefferson  Roesler, 
C.  S.  Burr, 
J.  E.  Brown, 
Ed.  C.  Mattes, 
W.  D.  Manness, 
R.  O.  Manness, 
Arja  Williams, 
George  S.  Throop, 
W.  H.  Storrs, 
W.  McK.  Miller, 
W.  K.  Logan, 
J.  C.  Highfield, 
George  H.  Ives, 
J.  G.  Lyshon, 
Geo.  H.  Maddocks, 
C.  H.  Lindsay, 
E.  J.  Dimmick, 
W.  B.  Henwood, 
Daniel  Bartholomew, 
E.  L.  Fuller, 
En os  T.  Hall, 
John  B.  Cust, 
Curtis  W.  Doud, 
H.  R.  Madison, 
C.  H.  Swift, 
Rudolph  Bensley, 
H.  Wehrum, 
Geo.  F.  Barnard, 
Samuel  H.  Stevens, 
Edward  H.  Lynde, 
Marshall  J.  Moore,  Jr., 
Denning  R.  Haight, 


W.  W.  Manness. 
Wm.  Connell. 
Geo.  L.  Dickson. 
W.  W.  Manness. 
James  Blair. 
Geo.  Sanderson. 
Chas.  A.  Stevens. 
James  Blair. 

D.  S.  Roberts. 

E.  B.  Sherwood. 
E.  C.  Fuller. 
Geo.  L.  Dickson. 
J.  C.  Piatt. 

J.  J.  Albright. 
J.J.  Albright. 
J.  C.  Piatt. 
Jas.  Archbald. 

B.  H.  Throop. 
R.  T.  Black. 
Sidney  Broadbent. 
W.  W.  Manness. 
Jas.  Ruthven. 

E.  C.  Lynde. 

Geo.  Fisher. 

H.  B.  Phelps. 

Wm.  Connell. 

H.  M.  Boies. 

Geo.  Fisher. 

John  M.  Snyder. 

J.  Gardner  Sanderson. 

J.  C.  Piatt. 

J.  C.  Piatt. 

R.  T.  Black, 

Geo.  L.  Breck, 

C.  W.  Roesler. 
E.  C.  Lynde. 
H.  B.  Phelps. 
L.  S.  Watres. 
W.  R.  Storrs. 
Jas.  Blair. 
John  Raymond. 


140  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

F.  Franschild,  W.  \V.  Manness. 

John  Hoffman,  J.  C.  Piatt. 

Wm.  M.  Ringler,  Geo.  Sanderson,  Jr. 

John  M.  Rose,  J.  J.  Albright. 

John  Hennecke,  Horace  B.  Phelps. 

This  list  did  not  include  all  the  men  who  were  in  the  firing 
squad,  on  the  ist  of  August,  and  it  did  include  many  who 
could  only  have  been  charged  as  participants  after  the  fact.  If 
all  who  joined  the  Citizens'  Corps  a  few  minutes  after  the  mob 
was  fired  upon,  had  been  included  in  the  accusation,  neither 
the  court-house  nor  jail  could  have  accommodated  the  pris- 
oners. There  were  more  than  five  hundred  men  who  were 
really  involved  in  the  decisions  of  the  court.  For  there  were 
from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand,  who  immediately  became 
participants  in  the  resistance  to  the  mob,  as  soon  as  the  alarm 
was  sounded. 

As  soon  as  the  prisoners  were  released  they  retired  in  a 
body  to  their  homes,  only  to  find  that  the  excitement  of  the 
city  had  in  no  measure  abated.  The  uncovering  of  the  nefa- 
rious plot  to  carry  the  young  men,  by  night,  through  a  re- 
gion where  there  must  have  been  brutal  slaughter,  under  cov- 
er of  legal  forms,  had  excited  the  whole  people.  The  great 
body  of  the  citizens  were  convinced  that  the  organization  of 
a  permanent  and  sufficient  force  for  the  city's  protection  might 
be  an  absolute  necessity. 

Instead  of  tracing  the  immediately  succeeding  events  in 
their  chronological  order,  it  is  deemed  best  to  complete  the 
record  of  this  attempt,  under  pretence  of  legal  forms,  and  by 
the  cry  of  justice  against  the  violators  of  law,  to  take  ven- 
geance upon  the  men  who  dispersed  the  mob  upon  the  ist  of 
August  and  saved  the  city.  The  emphatic  words  of  Judge 
Harding,  .when  he  dismissed  the  prisoners  under  bonds,  were 
rendered  the  more  pointed  and  forcible  by  the  presence  of  not 
only  the  State  militia,  but  by  that  of  the  Third   Regiment  of 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.      141 

United  States  Infantry,  with  a  battery,  which  were  sent  to 
Scranton  at  the  request  of  Governor  Hartranft.  The  dema- 
gogues, and  ward  officials,  made  no  further  attempts  to  lay 
hands  upon  the  young  men  who  had  placed  themselves  as 
culprits  under  the  order  of  the  highest  court  of  the  County. 

When  the  court  met  in  November,  just  about  three  months 
after  the  abortive  attempt  of  the  "  Acting  Coroner  "  to  lay 
hands  upon  these  young  men,  their  case  was  laid  before  the 
grand  jury,  and  an  indictment,  in  form,  for  manslaughter  was 
returned.  This  indictment  included  all  who  had  been  placed 
under  bonds.  On  the  26th  Judge  Harding  called  the  case,  and 
the  whole  afternoon  was  used  in  the  work  of  securing  a  jury. 
The  wife  of  one  of  the  slain  men  appeared  as  the  prosecutor. 
The  attorney  who  had  in  August  been  a  moving  and  controll- 
ing force  in  seeking  to  avenge  the  blood  of  the  workmen,  had 
accomplished  a  triumph  more  in  accordance  with  his  tastes, 
and,  as  was  supposed,  his  real  designs.  He  had  been  elected 
additional  law-judge,  and  so  retired  from  this  case.  Cornelius 
Smith,  Esq.,  a  very  worthy  and  respectable  member  of  the 
bar,  within  a  few  days  of  the  time  set  for  the  trial  was  em- 
ployed to  assist  the  prosecution.  He  opened  the  case  with  a 
calm  and  clear  issue.  He  presented  the  rights  of  the  workmen 
to  meet  and  retire  from  their  meeting  without  molestation;  and 
gave  his  exposition  of  the  law  in  terms  which  the  judge  him- 
self endorsed.  He  simply  denied  that  there  was  a  mob  in 
Scranton  at  the  time  the  men  were  shot,  and  hence  the  shoot- 
ing could  not  be  justified.  Mr.  Smith's  presentation  of  the 
case  was  clear,  manly  and  worthy  of  his  reputation  as  a  crim- 
inal lawyer.  Twenty-two  witnesses  had  been  subpoenaed  and 
were  called,  but  only  six  of  them  responded,  and  the  Court 
issued  attachments  for  all  the  delinquents.  This  act  of  the 
Court  speedily  brought  four  more  witnesses  to  the  stand,  and 
ultimately  some  six  or  eight  besides.  The  testimony  given 
was  very  much  a  repetition  of  that  which  had  been  given  be- 


142  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

fore  the  Alderman.  It  presented  distinctly  a  quiet  and  harm- 
less crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children,  at  the  corner  of 
Washington  and  Lackawanna  Avenues,  on  the  1st  day  of 
August,  1877,  into  which  the  citizens'  police  fired ;  with  no 
other  provocation  than  that  of  a  singlcclub,  with  which  some 
boy  would  seem  to  have  struck  Lewis  C.  Bortree.  From  the 
Alderman's  testimony,  as  one  of  the  witnesses,  it  would  ap- 
pear that  the  Commonwealth  came  very  near  losing  entirely 
the  benefits  of  his  official  vigilance,  as  well  as  his  coroner's 
inquest ;  as  he  testified  that  he  stood  within  three  feet  of  the 
man  who  fell  at  the  first  fire,  but  saw  no  demonstrations  sug- 
gestive of  a  mob.  Scranton,  Bortree  and  McKinney  seemed 
to  be  the  only  members  of  the  firing  squad  which  these  wit- 
nesses recognized  with  absolute  certainty.  There  were,  in- 
deed, but  two  of  the  witnesses  examined  who  saw  anything 
in  the  crowd  that  indicated  violence.  One  man  saw  the 
wounded  and  bleeding  mayor  before  the  squad  fired  upon  the 
crowd,  and  another  saw  what  he  calls  "a  few  boys  driving  the 
men  from  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  shops."  So 
the  prosecution  closed  their  testimony,  leaving  the  young  men 
clearly  guilty  of  wanton  murder  if  honest  men  could  have 
believed  the  witness  had  told  the  truth. 

Judge  Ward,  whose  office  fronted  upon  the  position  taken 
by  the  Citizens'  Corps  when  the  attack  was  made,  upon  the 
1st  of  August,  then  opened  the  case  for  the  defense.  He  gave 
a  full  and  clear  statement  of  the  gathering,  and  the  move- 
ment of  the  mob,  also  of  the  collision  with  the  police  which 
took  place  in  front  of  his  own  office.  He  detailed  graphically 
the  horrors  of  the  day,  and  the  brave  coolness  and  desperate 
venture  of  the  Mayor  and  his  citizens'  police  ;  and  closed  with 
the  statement  that  the  firing  began  only  when  the  citizens  had 
no  other  resort  to  save  the  city,  and  that  it  ceased  as  soon  as 
the  mob  had  been  dispersed. 

Twenty-four  witnesses  were  then  produced  for  the  defense. 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.      143 

These  included  men  from  all  classes  and  callings  in  the  city, 
from  the  Mayor  and  high  professional  and  business  men,  to 
laborers  and  cartmen.  From  these  witnesses  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  mob  and  of  the  unexpected  resistance  to  its  de- 
monstrations were  presented  to  the  Court  with  clearness  and 
detail.  These  witnesses  were  examined  by  the  Hon.  Henry 
W.  Palmer  and  cross-examined  by  Mr.  Smith.  Every  essen- 
tial fact  touching  the  gathering,  the  action  and  final  dispersion 
of  the  mob,  which  has  been  recorded  in  this  history,  was 
directly  established  by  eye-witnesses.  About  noon  of  the 
second  day  the  testimony  closed,  and  Mr.  Stanley  Woodward 
summed  up  for  the  defense. 

Mr.  Woodward's  address  was  remarkable  for  its  clear  inter- 
pretation of  the  law,  its  logical  arrangement  and  its  eloquence 
in  the  presentation  of  facts  and  conclusions.  After  compli- 
menting the  jury  for  their  patience  and  attention  to  the  evi- 
dence, and  calling  attention  to  the  great  interest,  and  greater 
responsibility,  of  this  case,  arising  from  the  character  and 
respectability  of  the  defendants,  as  well  as  from  the  points 
at  issue,  he  proceeded  as  follows,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
body  of  intelligent  citizens  both  of  Wrilkes-Barre  and  Scranton, 
and  was  listened  to  with  breathless  attention.  We  preserve 
the  notes  of  Mr.  Woodward's  address  both  because  of  its  fair- 
ness and  excellence,  and  because  it  formed  a  summary  of  the 
history  of  this  trial,  in  which  the  peace  and  authority  of  law 
in  the  region  were  so  strikingly  involved. 

"This  case  is  a  remarkable  one,"  he  said,  "by  reason  of  the  number 
of  the  defendants  in  one  indictment,  and  by  their  respectability  and 
high  personal  character.  The  fact  of  their  high  social  and  personal 
standing  in  the  community  only  made  the  case  for  the  Commonwealth 
still  stronger.  When  any  persons  are  brought  before  the  criminal  bar 
we  expect  to  see  upon  them  the  brand  of  crime  and  the  signs  of  a  hard- 
ened and  dissolute  life.  When,  therefore,  men  eminent  for  their  re- 
spectability, and  bearing  about  with  them  the  reputation  of  honorable 
lives,  whose  past  career  has  been  that  of  good  citizenship,  the  presump- 


144  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

tion  is  that  the  motives  and  principles  actuating  them  in  the  past  are 
the  same  which  obtain  with  them  to-day,  even  though  charged  with  the 
committal  of  a  heinous  crime.  No  jury  can  shut  its  eyes  and  ears  to 
the  healthful  influence  born  of  good  character  and  reputable  life.  If 
these  things  have  no  value,  if  they  are  to  have  no  weight  among  men, 
justice  is  a  farce,  and  society  has  no  sure  foundation. 

"These  men  are  charged  with  the  crime  ranking  next  to  murder — 
that  of  manslaughter,  and  this,  the  law  tells  us,  is  the  unlawful  killing 
of  a  human  being  without  malice  express  or  implied.  The  first  and 
natural  query  is,  Was  the  killing  of  these  men  unlawful  ?  This  leads 
to  the  laying  down  of  the  three  following  propositions :  First.  Was 
there  a  riot  in  the  City  of  Scranton  on  the  fifst  day  of  August,  1877? 
Second.  If  there  was  a  riot,  what  rights  had  all  well-disposed  citizens 
to  protect  their  lives  and  property  ?  Third.  Did  these  defendants  ex- 
ceed these  rights  ? 

"  Within  these  three  propositions  rests  this  entire  case.  If  they  did 
not  exceed  their  rights,  then  there  was  no  manslaughter  committed 
within  the  meaning  of  the  law. 

"  What  is  a  riot?  This  must  be  determined  in  order  that  we  may 
prove  whether  the  defendants  charged  with  this  high  crime  were  en- 
gaged in  the  exercise  of  their  lawful  duty.  The  laws  and  penalties  in 
this  State  affecting  this  crime  are  severe  and  stringent.  They  are  based 
upon  the  common  law  of  England,  brought  over  by  our  forefathers  be- 
fore the  State  had  an  existence  and  while  we  were  yet  young  as  a 
colony.  The  earliest  authority  defines  a  riot  to  be  the  gathering  of 
three  or  more  persons  armed  with  clubs,  stones  or  other  weapons,  who, 
to  the  terror  of  the  people,  commit  injury  upon  person  or  property. 

"Another  authority  declares  a  riot  to  be  any  tumultuous  assemblage 
of  three  or  more  persons  with  evil  intent  and  design,  and  with  arms  to 
terrorize  the  people,  destroy  their  goods  and  harm  their  persons.  In 
the  eye  of  the  law  all  who  are  present,  whether  active  or  passive  in  the 
proceedings,  are  rioters. 

"  Every  man  who  fails  to  subdue,  or  who  fails  to  make  the  attempt  to 
subdue  the  riot  is  a  rioter  and  must  take  the  consequences  of  his  ac- 
tion. Neither  does  it  need  previous  concert  of  action  to  establish  the 
fact  of  a  riot.  The  law  has  been  laid  down,  and  is  clear  upon  all  these 
points. 

"In  1844  occurred  the  great  riot  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and 
Judge  King,  in  his  charge  to  the  Grand  Jury,  rendered  an  opinion 
which  has  been  accepted  throughout  the  land  since  that  day  as  a  recog- 
nized definition  of  riot  and  rioters.     In  substance  this  definition   is  that 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.      145 

every  man  who  does  not  array  himself  on  the  side  of  law  is  a  rioter. 
When  riot  is  running  through  a  city,  there  can  be  no  neutrals  ; 
every  man  must  be  on  one  side  or  the  other.  He  must  be  for  peace 
or  discord.  He  must  be  willing  to  shed  his  blood  for  law  and  order,  or 
be  the  abettor  of  lawlessness  and  destruction.     In  brief,  it  is  even 

RIOTOUS  TO  BE  FOUND  ON  NEITHER  SIDE. 

"Now,  was  there  a  riot  at  the  time  indicated?  It  must  be  plain  to 
you  from  the  evidence,  that  this  was  no  peaceful  meeting  of  men  for 
peaceful  ends  in  Scranton  on  the  ist  of  August.  If  it  were  so,  there 
was  and  could  be  no  riot.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  an  unlawful  assem- 
blage, destructive  in  its  tendency,  deadly  in  its  purposes.  It  was  a 
riotous  meeting,  and  every  man  was  a  rioter  who  refused  to  help  to 
quell  it.  It  may  be  right  at  one  time  to  hold  a  meeting  when,  under 
other  circumstances,  it  would  be  highly  improper  and  unlawful  to  do  so. 
The  circumstances  surrounding  this  case  demonstrate  the  unlawful 
nature  of  the  meeting  of  these  men  on  the  ist  of  August.  The  riot  was 
rampant  all  over  the  land  and  in  their  midst.  In  Pittsburgh,  Philadel- 
phia and  other  cities,  and  here  in  Luzerne  County,  it  needed  only  a 
spark  to  ignite  the  flame.  Revolution  was  in  the  air;  disorder  choked 
the  atmosphere ;  a  tidal  wave  of  lawlessness  was  sweeping  over  the 
whole  land.  Laboring  men  everywhere  had  taken  the  law  in  their 
own  hands.  The  railroads  were  in  the  possession  of  the  employees, 
and  their  trains  were  stopped/  The  mail  service  was  dead  ;  communi- 
cation was  cut  off;  business  was  suspended;  and  all  this  because  bold, 
bad  men  had  control  of  affairs,  and  murder,  bloodshed  and  rapine  were 
the  instruments  used  to  enforce  their  assumed  rights.  We  were  not 
used  to  this  usurpation  of  the  law.  It  was  not  pleasant.  It  reversed 
all  our  ideas  of  right,  justice,  peace  and  good  order. 

"The  miners  resolved  to  stop  work,  which  they  had  a  perfect  right  to 
do.  But  when  they  formed  a  combination  to  prevent  others  from  work- 
ing and  the  mines  from  operating,  they  committed  a  crime.  Mayor  Mc- 
Kune,  in  the  discharge  of  his  daily  duty,  works.  The  brave  priest  who 
saved  his  life  labors,  as  he  ministers  to  his  people  in  all  the  relations  of 
life.  The  physician,  as  he  responds  to  the  call  for  his  healing  art,  nobly 
works.  The  farmer,  as  he  tills  the  soil,  and  plants,  and  waters,  struggling 
for  his  bread,  is  a  worker.  The  lawyer,  who  gives  his  time  and  thought, 
and  passes  sleepless  nights,  in  saving  for  his  client  his  rights  to  the  bene- 
fits of  his  enterprise,  earnestly  labors.  The  miner,  as  he  delves  for  the  pro- 
duct which  warms  and  comforts  us,  is  a  worker.  All  these,  and  many 
others,  work,  are  laborers,  and  have  their  rights.  And  the  good  of  so- 
ciety demands  that  they  should  all  work  in  harmony  for  the  public  good, 
10 


146  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

"  The  division  of  labor  is  the  philosophy  of  life.  Any  combination  of 
men  to  prevent  any  man  from  earning  an  honest  livelihood  commits  a 
crime  against  labor,  as  well  as  against  society  and  law.  We  are  taught 
that  a  man  shall  live  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  and  it  is  right.  It  is  in 
conformity  with  the  law  of  God  and  man. 

"Any  class  of  men,  who  prevent,  or  attempt  to  prevent,  men 
representing  the  same  class  of  labor  from  working,  are  guilty 
of  riot.  Now  what  was  the  purpose  of  this  meeting  at  the  silk  factory 
in  Scranton  on  the  1st  of  August,  1877  ?  As  far  as  the  evidence  goes,  it 
is  conclusively  shown  that  it  was  to  '  clean  out  the  blacklegs,'  to  '  kill 
Bill  Scranton,'  and  'gut  the  town.' 

"  By  *  cleaning  out  the  blacklegs  *  was  meant-the  stopping  of  those  men 
who  were  willing  to  work.  A  meeting  held  to  'clean  out  blacklegs' 
IS  A  riot,  and  this  meeting  at  the  silk  factory  was  of  that  nature.  They 
made  good  their  purpose  in  their  deeds.  If  they  were  right,  then  the  con- 
verse of  the  proposition  is  true,  that  any  number  of  operators  could  law- 
fully combine,  and  with  arms  and  violence  compel  the  miners  to  work  at 
any  stated  price  per  day.  If  they  should  attempt  to  do  so,  they  would  be 
rioters  and  conspirators. 

"  These  men,  this  mob,  commenced  their  work  by  the  declaration, 
'Come,  boys,  let's  gut  the  town  ;  the  day  is  ours.'  Frenzied,  armed  with 
clubs,  stones  and  pistols,  they  reached  the  main  street,  prepared  to  exe- 
cute the  plan  determined  upon  at  the  meeting. 

"  Preceding  this,  however,  and  in  anticipation  of  what  should  come,  the 
Governor  had  issued  his  proclamation  calling  upon  all  good  citizens  to 
aid  in  quelling  any  riot  or  disturbance  which  might  occur,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, to  arm  themselves  for  that  purpose. 

"  Mayor  McKune  had  supplemented  this  proclamation  of  the  Governor 
with  a  like  call,  and  under  this  authority  certain  citizens  of  Scranton  had 
signed  a  paper  binding  themselves  to  obey  any  call  made  upon  them  by 
the  Mayor.  They  did  not  do  this  for  the  purpose  of  pillage,  arson  and 
destruction.  It  was  done  in  the  interests  of  law  and  order,  and  the  pro- 
tection of  life  and  property.  If  they  did  it  for  the  purpose  of  kiHing  Dun- 
lavy  and  Langan,  they  should  be  convicted.  The  posse  was  formed  and 
called  to  quell  riot  and  disturbance.  If  ever  there  was  an  occasion  for 
them,  as  men  and  worthy  citizens,  to  perform  their  duty,  this  was  one. 
They  came  out,  were  attacked  with  pistols,  stones  and  clubs ;  they  fired, 
and  three  men  died. 

"  Now  had  these  citizens  any  right  to  protect  life  and  property?  No 
citizen  need  wait  for  the  Sheriff  to  act  before  he  can  make  the  attempt  to 
subdue  and  quell  a  riot,  and  protect  life  and  property,  even  to  the  death, 
if  it  be  necessary. 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.     147 

"  In  this  case  the  posse  marched  under  the  authority  of  the  Governor 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Scranton  to 
the  defense  of  law,  liberty  and  property. 

"And  here  let  me  say  that  nowhere  in  the  history  of  any  State  or  city 
can  be  found  a  nobler,  braver  record  than  that  made  by  Mayor  McKune 
and  this  handful  of  men  under  his  command.  Their  action  was  as 
unselfish  as  it  was  honorable.  No  man  could  have  shown  greater 
pluck  and  personal  courage  than  Mayor  McKune  when  he  quietly  ap- 
proached that  mob,  hoping  to  prevail  upon  them  to  return  to  their  duty 
as  good  citizens.  Yet  they  gave  him  no  hearing.  He  was  beaten  down 
by  those  who  call  themselves  laboring  men.  Had  they  not  been  met 
and  checked  in  their  mad  career,  the  city  of  Scranton  would  have  been 
in  embers.  There  would  have  been  sacked  houses  and  terrorized  people 
everywhere.  The  excitement  of  such  an  occasion  prevents  many  things 
from  being  brought  to  light ;  but  this  one  fact  we  have  proved,  that  the 
three  men  who  died  were  shot  in  the  front.  It  proves  their  activity  and 
their  connection  in  and  with  the  rest ;  and  being  with  and  of  it,  they  took 
their  chances,  and  met  their  death. 

"  We  therefore  hold  that  there  was  a  riot,  and  that  these  men  here 
charged  were  in  the  full  heroic  performance  of  their  duties  as  citizens 
when  this  unfortunate  result  occurred.  But  the  blood  of  these  victims 
must  be  upon  their  own  heads." 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Woodward's  address  the  Court  adjourned 
until  the  next  day,  November  27th. 

At  a  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock  on  the  27th,  Mr.  Smith 
addressed  the  jury  for  the  prosecution.  He  spoke  for  nearly 
two  hours,  but  did  not  attempt  to  assail  the  position  taken  by 
Woodward  for  the  defense.  He  simply  attempted  to  assail 
the  supposed  motives  and  the  conduct  of  the  prisoners,  as  the 
testimony  for  the  prosecution  seemed  to  present  them.  At 
the  conclusion  of  his  address  Judge  Harding  gave  charge  to 
the  jury  as  follows  : 

"  Gentlemen  :  The  defendants  here  are  charged  with  voluntary  man- 
slaughter. It  is  alleged  that  they  slew,  on  the  first  of  August  last,  one 
Patrick  Langan.  Counsel  for  the  defendant  and  counsel  for  the  com- 
monwealth have  each  in  turn  made  almost  exhaustive  reference  to  a 
case  tried  before  Judge  King,  in  Philadelphia,  some  years  ago,  many 


148  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

of  the  features  of  which  were  closely  analogous  to  those  appearing  in 
the  present  case. 

"  You  have  been  told  that  the  law  laid  down  in  that  case  must  govern 
this.  To  a  certain  extent  this  is  true.  Judge  King's  statement  of  the 
law  is  the  correct  one.  You  have  farther  been  told  that  the  jury  are 
judges  of  both  the  law  and  the  facts.  That  is  also  true;  but  so  far  as 
the  present  case  is  concerned  it  will  be  expected  that  the  jury  will  take 
the  law  from  this  court — not  from  other  courts.  The  jury  will  remember, 
too,  that  this  is  not  the  Daley  case  they  are  now  trying,  but  the  Scranton 
case — that  the  former  occurred  in  Philadelphia  upwards  of  thirty  years 
ago,  while  the  latter  occurred  in  the  city  of  Scranton  only  five  months 
ago — that  Matthew  Hammits,  of  Philadelphia,  was  not  the  person  slain, 
but  Patrick  Langan,  of  the  county  of  Luzerne, — that  John  Daley  is  not  the 
person  indicted,  but  Wm.  W.  Scranton,  Lewis  Bortree  and  others — that 
it  is  the  law  applicable  to  the  facts  and  circumstances  cqnnected  with 
this  case  which  must  govern  in  the  disposition  of  it. 

"  And,  gentlemen,  I  will  say,  at  the  outset,  that  if  the  facts  and  cir- 
cumstances have  been  truthfully  detailed  by  the  commonwealth,  then 
the  defendants  named  in  this  indictment,  excepting  Ezra  H.  Ripple, 
George  S.  Throop,  A.  E.  and  T.  F.  Haut,  J.  C.  Highriter  and  Jefferson 
Roesler,  against  whom  no  testimony  has  been  given,  may  be  convicted  of 
voluntary  manslaughter. 

"  People  may  assemble  together  to  the  number  of  three,  or  of  thou- 
sands, and  peacefully  discuss  the  difficulties  surrounding  them — they  may 
march  with  music  and  banners  through  the  streets  of  our  towns  and 
cities,  and  no  person  has  a  right  to  interfere  with  or  molest,  so  long  as 
they  do  not  disturb  the  public  peace  nor  violate  individual  rights.  More 
than  that,  though  their  march  be  tumultuous,  their  conduct  riotous  within 
the  meaning  of  the  penal  law,  thus  rendering  them  liable  to  arrest,  prose- 
cution, conviction  and  punishment ;  still,  they  are  not  to  be  attacked  and 
slain  by  armed  men  with  impunity.  If  they  are  offenders,  no  matter  who 
they  may  be,  nor  what  their  importance,  nor  what  their  standing — social 
or  otherwise — they  become  liable  to  arrest,  trial  and  conviction,  either  of 
murder  of  the  first  degree,  or  of  murder  of  the  second  degree,  or  of  volun- 
tary manslaughter,  as  the  circumstances  may  warrant.  To  be  more  ex- 
plicit :  If  that  mass  of  people,  designated  by  most  of  the  witnesses  as  the 
mob,  came  up  Washington  Avenue,  on  the  morning  referred  to,  in  the 
manner  described  by  the  several  witnesses  examined  on  the  part  of  the 
commonwealth,  and  as  they  turned  into  Lackawanna  Avenue,  they  were 
fired  upon  by  the  defendants,  then,  even  though  the  slain  man  and  his 
associates  were  engaged  in  what  might  be  termed  a  riot,  there  was  no 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S  DEFENDERS.     149 

justification  for  that  firing — no  justification  for  that  killing  ;  because, 
according  to  this  testimony,  the  riot — if  riot  it  was — was  of  the  mildest 
conceivable  type ;  it  could  not  therefore,  have  required  murderous 
force  to  suppress  it.  But,  gentlemen,  we  have  had  two  sworn  descrip- 
tions of  the  manner  of  conduct  of  that  multitude,  or  mob,  as  it  has  been 
called  on  that  day.  Which  of  the  descriptions  is  the  correct  one  ?  This 
is  the  great  fact  to  be  determined,  and  the  determination  of  it  is  solely  for 
you.  It  would  be  idle  to  deny  that  there  is  a  wide,  even  irreconcilable 
conflict  between  the  testimony  on  the  part  of  the  commonwealth,  and 
that  on  the  part  of  the  defense.  It  is  your  province,  no  matter  what  may 
be  the  views  of  the  court,  or  the  views  of  the  counsel  in  the  case,  to  be- 
lieve of  the  witnesses  whom  you  will,  and  to  disbelieve  whom  you  will. 
You  should,  however,  examine  with  care  all  the  testimony  presented  on 
the  one  side  and  the  other  ;  you  should  weigh  it  in  a  just  balance  ;  you 
should  find  according  to  your  convictions  of  the  truth. 

What  is  the  answer  of  the  defendants  ?  It  is  that  on  the  1st  of  August 
last  a  large  body  of  men  came  together  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of 
Scranton,  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  difficulties,  real  or 
imaginary,  which  surrounded  them,  but  really  for  the  purpose  of  organ- 
izing in  force,  with  a  view  to  stop  every  industry  connected  with  mining 
or  manufacturing  in  or  about  that  city;  that  being  thus  convened,  they 
resolved  to  go  in  a  body  and  drive  from  employment  every  person  en- 
gaged about  the  machine  shops  and  other  places  of  labor  belonging  to 
the  two  great  companies  of  that  vicinity  ;  that  this  resolution  passed  in 
the  midst  of  uproar  and  confusion,  they  proceeded  at  once  to  carry  out ; 
that  violence,  bloodshed  and  terror  marked  their  path ;  that,  meeting 
with  no  adequate  resistance,  they  rushed  on  beyond  the  shops  towards 
the  chief  avenue  of  the  city,  proclaiming,  as  they  went,  the  further  pur- 
pose of  robbery  and  murder;  that  they  struck  down  the  Mayor,  who,  in 
obedience  to  the  mandates  of  official  duty,  had  bravely  interposed  him- 
self in  their  path  ;  they  overthrew  the  civil  law  outright ;  that,  thereupon 
the  defendants  committed  the  act  here  charged  against  them  as  a  high 
crime. 

At  this  point,  gentlemen,  more  particularly  for  your  own  instruction, 
but  incidentally  for  the  hundreds  of  laboring  men  within  reach  of  my 
voice,  I  will  state  the  law  governing  their  rights.  Laboring  men,  no 
matter  in  what  capacity,  have  the  right  to  demand  what  to  them  seems 
a  fair  compensation  for  their  work,  and  if  that  compensation  is  not  ac- 
corded they  have  the  right  to  strike  ;  in  other  words,  to  quit  work. 
Again,  any  laborer  who  is  willing  to  work  for  a  compensation  satisfac- 
tory to  himself,  even  though  it  be  less  that  than  demanded  by  his  asso- 


150  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

ciates  of  the  same  class,  has  the  right  to  work;  and  as  the  law  will  com- 
pel no  man  or  body  of  men  to  work  for  a  price  not  agreed  upon  by  him- 
self, so  the  law  will  not  permit  any  man  or  body  of  men  to  enforce  the 
idleness  of  others  who  are  willing  to  work  for  a  price  that  suits  them. 
Such  is  the  rule  wherever  civilization  extends  ;  such  will  be  the  rule  as 
long  as  civilization  lasts. 

It  is  not  strange,  however,  that  laboring  men  should  mistake  their 
rights  in  this  particular;  it  is  not  strange  that  cunning,  wicked,  dangerous 
demagogues  should  lead  them  astray ;  it  has  been  so  in  the  times  past,  it 
is  so  in  times  present — demagogues  swarm  amongst  them  like  bees — and 
so  it  will  continue,  most  likely,  down  to  the  end  of  time. 

The  history  of  strikes  is  but  a  harrowing  story  of  the  suffering  of  the 
laboring  classes.  Betrayed  through  evil  advisers  into  violations  of  the 
law,  they  have  languished  and  died  in  prisons,  and  their  burial  places 
have  been  in  prison-yards ;  their  children,  orphaned,  have  grown  up  to 
early  vagabondism  and  crime. 

And  yet  the  teachings  of  experience  seem  to  go  unheeded.  The 
demagogue  is  as  powerful  to-day  as  ever.  But  the  wheel  of  civilization 
and  good  government  moves  on,  nevertheless;  it  will  move  on  thus  till 
the  latest  day.  The  striker,  grown  into  a  rioter,  may  achieve  a  tempo- 
rary triumph,  but  its  duration  can  scarcely  be  of  a  day.  Law  and  order 
are  characteristics  of  our  institutions,  and  no  power  on  earth  can  sup- 
plant them.  True  enough  any  law  may  be  changed,  but  never  by  vio- 
lence. The  redress  for  bad  laws  is  the  ballot-box.  The  redress  for  un- 
satisfactory officials  is  likewise  the  ballot-box.  We  have  recently  had 
an  example  of  the  latter  in  our  midst.  I  may  say,  however,  that  no 
matter  who  are  our  officials,  the  law  as  it  stands  will  be  enforced.  It 
may  be  changed  as  I  have  indicated,  but  by  the  bludgeon  never. 

The  statute  law  of  our  State  in  regard  to  riot  is  as  follows  : 

u  Section  ig.  If  any  person  shall  be  concerned  in  any  riot,  rout,  unlaw- 
ful assembly  or  an  affray,  and  shall  thereof  be  convicted,  he  shall  be 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  be  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  not  exceeding 
five  hundred  dollars,  and  undergo  an  imprisonment  not  exceeding  two 
years,  or  both,  or  either,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Court.  And  in  case  any 
one  is  convicted  of  aggravated  riot,  the  Court  may  sentence  the  offender 
to  imprisonment  by  separate  and  solitary  confinement  at  labor,  not  ex- 
ceeding three  years. 

"  Section  20.  If  any  persons  riotously  and  tumultuously  assemble  to- 
gether to  the  disturbance  of  the  public  peace,  and  shall  unlawfully  and 
with  force  demolish,  pull  down  or  destroy,  or  begin  to  demolish,  pull 
down  or  destroy  any  public  building,  private  house,  church,  meeting- 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S   DEFENDERS.     151 

house,  stable,  barn,  mill,  granary,  malt-house,  or  out-house,  or  any 
building  or  erection  used  in  carrying  on  any  trade,  or  manufacture,  or 
any  branch  thereof,  or  any  machinery,  whether  fixed  or  movable,  pre- 
pared for  or  employed  in  any  manufacture  or  any  branch  thereof,  or 
any  steam  engine,  or  other  engine,  for  sinking,  working  or  draining 
any  mine,  or  any  building  or  erection  used  in  the  conducting  the  busi- 
ness of  any  mine,  or  any  bridge,  wagon-way,  road  or  track  for  convey- 
ing minerals  from  any  mine,  every  such  offender  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  being  convicted  thereof,  shall  be  imprisoned  by  sep- 
arate or  solitary  confinement  at  labor,  or  by  simple  imprisonment,  not 
exceeding  seven  years." 

You  will  observe,  gentlemen,  that  the  statute  contemplates,  first,  a 
riot  in  the  nature  of  an  unlawful  assembly,  or  an  affray  merely;  second, 
a  riot  which  has  the  features  of  aggravation  about  it,  and,  third,  a  riot 
which  is  attended  with  the  destruction  of  buildings  or  machinery.  Now, 
taking  the  testimony  as  presented  on  the  part  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  the  assembly  of  the  first  of  August  last,  in  the  City  of  Scranton, 
amounted  neither  to  a  riot  involving  the  destruction  of  buildings  or 
machinery,  nor  to  a  riot  of  an  aggravated  character;  at  most,  it  was  but 
an  unlawful  assembly.  Hence,  as  I  have  said  already,  if  this  testimony 
be  believed,  the  defendants,  who  made  an  attack  upon  it  from  which 
the  death  of  Patrick  Langan  resulted,  may  be  convicted  in  manner  and 
form  as  they  stand  charged  in  this  indictment. 

The  words  "riot"  and  "unlawful  assembly,"  as  used  in  the  statute, 
have  a  distinct  legal  signification,  thus:  Any  tumultuous  disturbance, 
having  no  avowed  or  ostensible,  legal  or  constitutional  object,  assem- 
bling together  of  their  own  authority,  and  deporting  themselves  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  produce  danger  to  the  public  peace  and  tranquillity,  and 
which  excites  terror,  alarm  and  consternation  in  the  neighborhood,  is 
an  "unlawful  assembly."  To  illustrate:  If  the  meeting  down  at  the 
silk  works,  where  the  resolution  was  passed  that  all  should  go  in  a  body 
and  stop  the  operatives  in  the  machine  shops,  was  truthfully  described 
by  the  witnesses  for  the  defense,  then  that  meeting  was  not  only  an 
•'unlawful  assembly."  but  it  was  the  beginning  of  an  aggravated  riot. 
Every  person  present  was  in  the  eye  of  the  law  a  principal.  In  this 
crime  all  are  regarded  as  principals  until  the  contrary  is  shown.  Fur- 
ther, if,  in  carrying  out  the  resolution  passed  at  the  silk  works,  the  mob, 
as  it  has  been  called,  proceeded  to  the  shops  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron 
and  Coal  Company,  entered  them,  struck  down  those  who  were  em- 
ployed there,  drove  them  away,  surely  a  riot  of  a  very  dangerous  and 
wicked  character  was  in  full  progress.     The  law  governing  the  duties 


152  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

of  magistrates  and  of  citizens,  when  an  unlawful  assembly  threatens  the 
public  peace,  has  been  well  stated  by  an  eminent  jurist  whose  name 
has  been  repeatedly  mentioned  by  counsel  in  the  argument  of  this  case, 
Judge  King,  of  Philadelphia,  now  deceased. 

buch  an  assembly  may  be  dispersed  by  a  magistrate  whenever  he  finds 
an  order  of  things  existing  which  calls  for  interference  in  the  interest  of 
the  public  peace.  He  is  not  required  to  delay  action  until  the  unlawful 
assembly  ripens  into  an  actual  riot.  He  has  the  right  to  arrest  the  of- 
fenders, or  to  authorize  others  to  do  so,  by  a  verbal  command,  without 
any  other  warrant  whatsoever.  He  may  invoke  the  aid  of  every  citizen 
present,  and  they  are  bound  to  respond  to  his  requisition.  Indeed,  if  he 
fails  to  do  his  utmost  for  the  suppression  of  such  an  assembly,  he  may 
himself  be  indicted  and  convicted  of  a  criminal  misdemeanor.  I  repeat, 
an  unlawful  assembly  ripening  into  a  riot  should  be  crushed  out  at  once 
by  all  lawful  means ;  because,  if  suffered  to  continue,  destruction,  ruin, 
death,  are  almost  certain  features  of  its  pathway.  It  is  like  the  snow- 
ball that  we  rolled  to  a  declivity  in  our  boyhood,  small  at  first,  but  rolling 
on  unrestrained,  it  soon  acquired  huge  proportions  and  bore  down  every- 
thing before  it. 

"Again,  gentlemen,  when  an  actual  riot  is  at  hand,  when  its  more  dan- 
gerous form  has  been  put  on,  and  life  and  property  are  threatened,  more 
decisive  measures  may  be  adopted.  Citizens  may  of  their  own  authority 
lawfully  endeavor  to  suppress  it.  They  may  arm  themselves,  and  what- 
ever they  honestly  and  reasonably  do  in  their  efforts  to  suppress  it  will 
be  supported  and  justified  by  the  law.  A  riotous  mob  is  the  most  dan- 
gerous thing  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Of  all  animals  under  the  sun,  men 
running  mad  are  the  worst  in  their  fury. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  what  was  the  real  condition  of  affairs  at  Scranton 
on  the  first  of  August  last  ?  You  must  find  an  answer  to  this  from  the 
testimony  alone — from  no  other  source.  The  showing  on  the  part  of  the 
Commonwealth  was  full,  clear,  and  to  the  point.  If  you  are  satisfied  of 
its  correctness  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  then  I  have  already  instructed 
you  as  to  your  duty  in  the  premises.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  testimony 
adduced  for  the  defense  leads  you  to  view  the  occurrences  of  that  morn- 
ing in  a  different  light, — or,  in  other  words,  if  that  testimony  raises  in  your 
minds  a  reasonable  doubt  of  the  guilt  of  the  accused,  that  is  to  say,  a 
doubt  springing  from  a  fair  and  full  consideration  of  the  testimony  on 
both  sides, — then  all  of  the  defendants  named  in  the  indictment  are  en- 
titled to  an  acquittal  I  refer  in  brief  to  the  testimony  of  the  defense. 
All  of  the  witnesses  on  that  side  give  us  substantially  the  same  history. 
On  the  morning  of  the  first  of  August  last,  hundreds  of  men  who  were  on 


ARREST  AND  TRIAL  OF  THE  CITY'S   DEFENDERS.     153 

a  strike,  as  it  is  called,  assembled  at  the  silk  works,  in  the  city  of  Scran- 
ton.     They  passed  a  resolution  to  go  in  force  and  stop  all  work  at  the 
machine  shops  near  at  hand.     They  rushed  to  one  of  these  shops  and 
drove  away  all  who  were  employed  there,  inflicting  serious  personal  vio- 
lence upon  some,  and  threatening  and  terrifying  others.     They  went  to 
another  shop  and   enacted  like  outrages   there.     Their  number,  now 
greatly  increased  by  women  and  boys,  was  such  that  universal  terror  and 
alarm  seemed  abroad  in  that  city.     They  constituted  a  howling,  yelling, 
apparently  irresistible  and  wicked  mob.     Having  accomplished  the  pur- 
pose of  their  resolution  passed  at  the  silk  works,  they  approached  the 
main  avenue  of  the  city.     Above  the  common  roar  always  incident  to 
such  a  mob  were  heard  the  words,  'Let  us  go  for  Bill  Scranton  !'  'We 
will  have  his  blood  ! '    '  Let  us  go  for  Lackawanna  Avenue  ! '    'To  the 
Company's  stores — we'll  gut  'em  ! '     At  this  juncture  the  Mayor,  a  bold, 
brave  man,  appeared.     He  did  nothing  more  than  his  duty,  but  he  well 
did  all  of  that.     Few  gentlemen  would  have  had  the  nerve  to  do  what  he 
did.     Unaided,  unarmed,  alone,  he  met  that  wild,  maddened,  surging 
mass.     He   commanded,  besought  them   to    disperse.     They  attacked 
him,  beat  him,  bruised  him,  imperilled  his  life.     Fortunately,  though 
felled  to  the  ground  once  or  twice,  he  was  able  to  rise  each  time,  other- 
wise the  life  would  have  been  trampled  out  of  him.     Supported  by  two 
of  his  aids  who  had  hastened  to  his  rescue,  and  by  a  friend  in  the  person 
of  a  priest,  a  noble  and  fearless  man,  the  Mayor  reached  Lackawanna 
Avenue,  where,  bleeding  and  wounded  though  he  was,  he  was  again  set 
upon  by  one  of  the  rioters,  a  stalwart  man,  who  dealt  him  a  blow  that 
broke  his  jaw.     Here  he  was  met  by  thirty  or  forty  special  policemen  or 
posse,  as  they  have  been  called,  whom  with  commendable  prudence  he 
had  selected  and  sworn  to  aid  him  in  the  preservation  of  the  public  peace 
but  a  few  days  before,  and  whose  presence  at  that  particular  juncture  was 
the  result  of  an  order  that  he  dispatched  to  them  hardly  an  hour  previ- 
ously.    The  posse  was  assailed  with  clubs  ;  missiles  thrown  at  them  filled 
the  air;  a  pistol-shot  fired  from  the  crowd  struck  one  of  them.     The 
Mayor  gave  an  order  to  fire.     That  order  was  obeyed.     Lackawanna 
Avenue  was    saved — the   Company's    stores  were    saved.     That  wild 
crowd  melted  away — dispersed  at   once.     The  public   peace  was  re- 
stored. 

"  Gentlemen,  the  credibility  of  the  witnesses,  the  defendants'  witnesses 
I  mean,  who  gave  the  history  of  that  day's  occurrences  as  thus  briefly 
stated,  is  for  you  to  decide.  If  you  are  satisfied  that  it  is  the  true  history, 
then  most  certainly  there  ought  not  to  be  a  conviction  of  any  of  the  de- 
fendants named  in  this  indictment.     If  it  is  the  true  history,  the  city  of 


154  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Scranton  was  fortunate  in  having  for  her  chief  officer  on  that  day  Robert 
H.  McKune,  one  of  the  few  Mayors  of  the  cities  of  Pennsylvania  who,  in 
the  almost  general  troubles  of  the  times,  manfully  stood  up  for  law  and 
order.  If  it  is  the  true  history,  the  city  of  Scranton  was  fortunate  that  the 
Mayor's  posse  was  composed  of  just  such  men  as  W.  W.  Scranton,  Lewis 
Bortree,  and  their  associates.  If  it  is  the  true  history,  these  defendants 
I  repeat,  are  entitled  to  a  general  finding  of  not  guilty.  The  case  is  now 
with  you. 

C.  E.  Rice  and  Cornelius  Smith  for  Commonwealth. 

W.  G.  Ward,  Stanley  Woodward  and  H.  W.  Palmer  for  defense. 

At  half-past  eleven  o'clock,  a.m.,  the  jury  retired,  and  at  pre- 
cisely twelve  they  returned  to  announce  their  verdict  of  "  not 
guilty." 

A  jury  was  immediately  drawn  upon  the  second  and  third 
indictments  against  the  prisoners,  and  after  being  sworn  under 
direction  of  the  Court,  without  leaving  their  seats,  returned 
verdicts  of  not  guilty,  on  both  indictments,  upon  the  state- 
ment of  the  district  attorney  that  he  had  no  evidence  to  offer 
against  the  prisoners  save  that  which  had  been  offered  in  the 
trial  before. 

Half  an  hour  afterwards  the  young  men  and  their  friends 
returned  by  special  train  to  the  city  in  quiet  triumph.  So  ended 
the  attempt  to  secure  a  legal  recognition  of  the  lawless  mob 
of  August  1st,  1877,  and  to  take  legal  vengeance  upon  the 
men  who  saved  the  city  at  so  small  an  expense  of  human  life. 
Thus  the  brave  stand  of  fifty  young  men,  who  dared  to  meet 
the  thousands  of  law-breakers  with  deadly  precision,  and  rescue 
legal  authority  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives,  became  a  prece- 
dent for  the  future  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  taught  the 
ignorant  and  the  vicious  alike  that  the  life  and  liberty  of  the 
individual  must  be  held  sacred  against  all  assailants,  whether 
they  be  thieves,  assassins  and  communists,  or  whether  they 
be  worthy  working  men  suffering  under  grievances  and  injus- 
tice which  the  law  is  impotent  to  redress. 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD.  155 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ORGANIZATION  AND   MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD. 

The  Mob  Produces  Fruits  by  the  Legal  Tree— The  Dragon's  Teeth  Sown  in  the 
Fields  of  Legal  Prosecution  Sprout  into  a  Beautiful  Harvest. 

FT  will  be  necessary  now  to  go  back  to  the  point  where  the 
*■  aims  and  intentions  of  the  Alderman's  inquest  were  yet 
in  uncertainty,  in  order  to  take  up  intelligently  and  present 
chronologically  the  thread  of  this  history. 

The  sense  of  relief,  from  the  arrival  of  the  militia  of  the 
National  Guard,  on  the  2d  of  August,  continued  while  the 
conduct  of  the  lawless  element  and  the  signs  of  evil  omen 
every  night,  kept  the  people  still  mindful  of  undefined  dan- 
gers. The  attempts  to  set  fire  to  valuable  property,  and  the 
attacks  upon  the  trains  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city  on  all  sides, 
impressed  both  the  young  men  and  the  citizens  generally  with 
the  fact,  that  even  the  ending  of  the  strike  could  hardly  secure 
the  peace  and  safety  of  the  city  with  the  present  condition  of 
passion  and  population. 

The  farmers  were  helpless  and  intimidated  in  the  country, 
and  without  question  made  a  virtue  of  necessity ;  giving  of 
their  produce  to  strikers  and  tramps  alike,  whatever  they  called 
for.  The  trains  on  the  Lackawanna  &  Rloomsburg  Division, 
and  on  the  Lehigh  and  Susquehanna  Railroads  were  attacked 
with  stones  and  sometimes  with  bullets,  almost  every  night. 
Oh  the  8th  of  August  the  engineer  on  the  Bloomsburg  train 
saw,  when  about  two  miles  from  the  city,  what  he  supposed 
to  be  a  woman  lying  across  the  track.     He  stopped  his  train ; 


156  A   CITY'S   DANGER   AND    DEFENSE. 

and  just  as  he  did  so  a  bullet  went  whistling  through  his 
hat ;  and  he  found  the  obstruction  was  merely  a  dummy, 
placed  there  to  stop  the  train  and  give  the  assassin  a  chance 
for  a  deadly  shot. 

Different  members  of  the  citizens'  company  received  myste- 
rious warnings  of  coming  vengeance,  which  grew  constantly 
bolder  and  more  open.  At  last  on  the  afternoon  of  the  7th,  a 
miscreant  approached  a  member  of  the  firing  squad,  who  had 
carried  a  musket  through  the  four  years  of  the  rebellion,  and 
tauntingly  assuring  him  that  he  was  "a" marked  man,"  struck 
him  in  the  face  with  an  open  palm.  The  soldier  happened  to 
be  a  dentist  by  profession,  and  with  the  coolest  of  replies,  that 
his  assailant  should  also  have  the  honor  of  being  "a  marked 
man,"  he  extracted  a  few  of  the  strikers'  front  teeth  with  his 
clenched  fist.  This  put  an  end  to  all  open  taunts;  but  the 
angry  passion  visibly  burned ;  and  the  young  men  began  se- 
riously to  discuss  both  the  necessity  and  the  propriety  of  or- 
ganizing a  permanent  independent  military  company. 

On  the  morning  of  August  7th  the  following  paper  was 
drawn  up  and  circulated  for  signatures.  The  paper  was  first 
addressed  to  the  "  Hon.  George  Sanderson,  president ;  Hugh 
M.  Hannah,  secretary  ;  A.  C.  Konarson,  Julius  Sutto,  Julius 
Kramer,  John  Raymond,  J.  W.  Garney,  Dr.  Hollister,  H.  B. 
Rockwell,  Thomas  Phillips,  C.  W.  Roesler  and  others  of  the 
citizens'  meeting,"  which  had  so  fully  endorsed  the  firing  upon 
the  mob  the  day  after  the  riot.  It  was  afterwards  simply  ad- 
dressed to  the  citizens  generally.  The  paper  was  as  follows, 
to  wit : — 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the  Mayor's  specials,  are  willing 
and  desirous  to  effect  a  permanent  military  organization  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  lives  and  property  of  our  citizens,  and  the  maintenance  of 
law  and  order  within  our  city  limits  ;  providing  we  can  secure  the  per- 
manent support,  moral  and  pecuniary,  of  our  law-abiding  citizens.  Also 
providing  we  can  do  so  without  being  made  liable  to  general  military 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD.         157 

duty :  not  from  want  of  interest  in  the  general  prosperity  of  our  State 
and  County;  but  because  the  various  business  callings  would  prevent  it. 
Our  families  are  dependent  upon  our  labor  and  presence  for  support  and 
protection.  We  invite  the  immediate  attention  of  your  committee  to  this 
matter,  which,  if  considered  favorably,  will  result  in  the  organization 
alike  honorable  and  useful  to  our  city." 

This  paper  was  on  that  day  signed  by  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  of  the  best  young  men  then  in  the  city. 

In  the  evening  of  that  day  the  young  men  who  had  signed 
this  paper ;  with  a  large  number  of  older  citizens,  gathered  at 
the  company's  store,  where  the  Mayor  still  kept  his  headquar- 
ters, and  a  meeting  was  organized  which  was  called  a  meeting 
of  citizens.  Henry  M.  Boies  was  chosen  chairman,  and 
Charles  R.  Smith  secretary.  The  paper  with  its  signatures 
was  read  and  inquiry  was  made  as  to  what  response  had  been 
made  by  the  men  of  property.  Mr.  H.  A.  Kingsbury  reported 
that  assurances  had  been  received  from  Dr.  B.  H.  Throop,  of 
his  co-operation ;  that  he  had  already  taken  the  matter  in 
hand,  and  had  given  his  convictions  that  the  citizens  generally 
would  support  the  movement  to  organize  an  independent  mil- 
itary company.  The  meeting  then  entered  into  a  discussion 
of  the  question  whether  an  organization  should  be  attempted 
on  an  independent  basis,  or  a  company  be  formed  to  be  mus- 
tered into  the  State  service.  F.  L.  Hitchcock  and  some  oth- 
ers expressed  the  conviction  that  an  organization  could  not  be 
legally  effected  without  being  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
State.  And  a  committee  of  four  lawyers  was  appointed  to  in- 
vestigate and  report  on  that  question  at  a  subsequent  meeting. 
This  committee  consisted  of  F.  L.  Hitchcock,  H.  M.  Hannah, 
I.  J.  Post  and  H.  A.  Knapp. 

Another  committee  consisting  of  A.  Bryson,  Jr.,  J.  E.  Brown 
and  E.  H.  Ripple  was  appointed  on  military  organization.  A 
committee  of  five,  consisting  of  H.  M.  Boies,  J.  A.  Linen,  H. 
A.  Kingsbury,  E.  H.  Ripple  and  James  E.  Brown  was  ap- 


158  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

pointed  on  finance.  A  committee  consisting  ofW.  W.  Scran- 
ton,  James  Ruthven  and  A.  W.  Dickson,  was  appointed  to 
call  on  General  Osborne,  and  inquire  what  arrangement  could 
be  made  to  secure  the  use  of  state  arms  for  such  an  organiza- 
tion. Also  a  committee  consisting  of  Dr.  S.  C.  Logan  and  H. 
M.  Boies,  was  appointed  on  the  securing  of  an  armory. 

Deputy  Sheriff  Bortree  was  requested  to  investigate  a  cer- 
tain reported  drilling  of  armed  workmen  at  different  points  in 
and  about  the  city.  After  which  the  assembly  adjourned  to 
meet  on  the  evening  of  the  ioth  in  the  same  place. 

This  movement  for  a  military  organization  was  greatly  facil- 
itated by  the  arrival  on  the  6th.  of  seven  companies  of  United 
States  troops,  with  a  company  of  the  3d  United  States  Artil- 
lery. This  body  was  280  strong,  under  command  of  Col. 
Henry  A.  Morrow.  Also  by  the  grand  parade  and  military 
review  of  the  7th  division  of  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  Lackawanna  Avenue,  by  General  Huidekoper  and 
staff  on  the  7th.  The  people  generally  were  greatly  interested 
in  the  pageant,  and  felt  grateful  for  the  security  afforded  by  the 
presence  of  these  troops.  Thus  public  opinion  began  to  drift 
towards  a  permanent  organization  of  the  young  men. 

But  the  property  owners,  and  the  more  conservative  citizens, 
felt  that  great  danger  lurked  in  that  path.  They  feared  an 
alienation  might  be  perpetuated  between  the  laborers  and  the 
property  owners,  if  these  young  men  should  be  put  in  the  per- 
manent position  of  readiness  to  control  all  movements  of 
strikers  with  guns,  which  it  had  been  demonstrated  were  dan- 
gerous. 

This  question  of  the  organization  of  a  military  company  had 
just  begun  to  be  considered,  when  the  whole  matter  was 
arrested  by  the  revelation  of  the  plans  of  the  Coroner's  Court 
for  the  arrest  of  the  members  of  the  Citizens'  Corps,  and  by 
the  consequent  excitement,  which  the  dangers  to  which  the 
young  men  were  exposed  had  brought  to  the  whole  city.  The 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD.         159 

dangers  of  the  lawless  spirit,  when  it  proposes  to  clothe  itself 
with  legal  forms,  or  when  it  poses  itself  as  the  minister  of  jus- 
tice, are  not  to  be  successfully  met  by  military  force  alone. 
When  Satan  puts  on  the  garb  of  an  angel  of  light  it  will  not 
do  to  strip  him  of  his  stolen  garments  in  the  darkness  or  in 
the  night-time.  Wisdom  demands  that  he  shall  be  brought 
into  the  broad  light  of  the  day,  when  the  light  itself  will  do  the 
work  of  truth  and  justice.  By  the  arrest  of  the  men  charged 
with  murder,  the  thought  and  energies  of  the  whole  city  were 
turned  towards  securing  their  safety  and  the  preservation  of 
the  law  to  its  true  mission,  as  a  terror  to  the  evil-doer  and  a 
praise  to  them  that  do  well. 

The  whole  respectable  portion  of  the  city  turned  its  attention 
to  the  process  by  which  these  young  men  sought  to  become 
free,  by  placing  themselves  under  bonds  as  prisoners  responsi- 
ble to  the  law,  for  their  experiments  with  explosive  forces  on 
the  first  of  August  in  the  public  avenues  of  the  city. 

There  were  more  than  a  hundred  of  the  best  citizens  of 
Scranton  who  accompanied  the  young  men  as  friends  when 
they  were  taken  under  the  military  guard  to  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Court  of  Luzerne  County.  All  the  large  property 
owners  were  either  present  or  represented,  and  all  classes  of 
law-abiding  citizens  were  included.  The  demonstration  was 
in  no  sense  a  movement  of  the  corporations.  It  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  differences  between  these  corporations  and  their 
workmen.  In  the  crowd,  that  proposed  to  see  what  the  Courts 
might  do  with  the  men  who  had  saved  the  city,  were  mer- 
chants and  mechanics,  professional  men  of  all  liberal  profes- 
sions, pastors,  doctors,  lawyers,  bankers  and  business  men  in 
all  walks  in  life,  from  the  local  expressman  to  the  builders  of 
the  steam  engines. 

As  the  smoke  of  the  conflict  had  lifted  and  passed  away,  and 
the  citizens  and  property  owners  had  been  able  to  consider  the 
facts  without  passion,  and  the  circumstances  without  prejudice, 


160  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

they  had  come  to  an  almost  universal  conviction  of  the  heroic 
and  righteous  action  of  the  Mayor,  and  the  young  men. 
Grateful  for  what  had  been  done  in  the  exigency  of  the  city's 
exposure,  the  honest  and  intelligent  citizens  determined  to 
stand  with  and  protect  the  young  men  and  Mayor  to  the  end, 
whatever  might  be  the  cost. 

After  the  Court  had  dismissed  the  young  men  with  their 
bondsmen,  the  whole  body  returned  by  way  of  Kingston  on  a 
special  train.  During  the  times  of  delay,  and  when  on  the 
train,  the  whole  situation  was  earnestly -.discussed  by  the  elder 
men  of  the  company.  Captain  Ripple,  F.  L.  Hitchcock,  H. 
M.  Boies  and  Dr.  Logan,  used  the  whole  time  of  the  transit 
pressing  upon  the  men  of  means  and  influence  their  convictions 
of  the  propriety  and  necessity  for  a  military  organization,  both 
for  the  protection  of  the  city  and  of  the  young  men  themselves. 
The  conviction  soon  became  general  that  the  young  men,  now 
known  by  everybody  as  connected  with  the  firing  squad,  could 
with  difficulty  be  protected  from  the  attempts  of  the  assassins, 
and  Molly  Maguires,  which  the  unabated  passion  of  the  strikers 
and  the  continuance  of  the  strike  still  permitted  to  find  refuge 
in  and  about  the  city.  It  was  deemed  best,  and  indeed  the 
only  present  way  of  safety,  to  keep  the  company  together  at 
night  as  far  as  possible.  The  young  men  could  attend  to 
business  during  the  day,  as  long  as  the  military  protection  fur- 
nished by  the  Governor  should  continue;  but  at  night  it  was 
not  deemed  safe  for  them  to  walk  about  the  city  alone,  or  to 
remain  at  their  homes  without  protection.  But  even  this  ap- 
peared impracticable  and  deleterious  to  good  habits,  unless 
they  should  be  organized  and  placed  under  military  training. 
As  the  result  of  the  consultation  on  the  homeward  train,  every 
citizen  who  was  approached  gave  assurances  of  his  readiness  to 
give  all  proper  encouragement  and  support  to  the  effort  to  or- 
ganize a  military  guard  for  the  city.  Such  a  guard  as  should 
prove  the  city's  real  defense  against  all  the  general  disturbances 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD.        161 

to  which  it  must  be  liable,  as  long  as  such  organizations  of  op- 
position between  the  corporations  and  employes  should  con- 
tinue. 

On  the  ioth  of  August,  the  evening  to  which  the  citizens' 
meeting  of  the  7th  stood  adjourned,  a  large  body  of  young 
men  gathered  at  the  Company's  store,  ready  to  listen  to  the 
reports  of  the  various  committees  which  had  been  appointed, 
and  to  take  any  proper  action  which  might  be  suggested  look- 
ing towards  a  military  organization.  Mr.  Boies  called  the 
meeting  to  order,  and  Mr.  William  A.  Duer,  who  had  served  in 
the  navy  under  his  kinsman,  Admiral  Dupont,  introduced 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Morrow,  of  the  Thirteenth  Regt.  Regu- 
lars, commanding  the  United  States  troops,  now  encamped 
on  the  hill  east  of  Clay  Avenue,  in  the  city.  Colonel  Morrow 
addressed  the  young  men  on  the  subject  of  military  organiza- 
tion with  great  acceptance,  advising  them  to  organize  as  a 
company  under  the  state  law,  and  by  diligence  and  discipline 
to  make  the  best  company  of  the  National  Guard. 

He  generously  offered  all  help  that  he  could  give  towards 
the  organization  and  drilling  of  such  a  company.  He  was 
responded  to  by  Chairman  Boies,  who  returned  the  thanks  of 
the  young  men  for  the  colonel's  kind  offer  of  his  help  to  set 
the  company  fully  on  its  feet  when  organized.  By  invitation 
of  the  chairman,  the  meet;ng  was  also  addressed  by  the  Rev. 
A.  A.  Marple,  by  F.  L.  Hitchcock  and  others,  all  of  whom 
advised  organization  as  speedily  as  possible. 

The  committees  appointed  on  the  7th  were  then  called 
upon,  and  reported  on  the  several  subjects  referred  to  them. 
Mr.  Hannah,  from  the  committee  on  the  legal  questions  in- 
volved, reported  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  organize,  an 
independent  company  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  to  or- 
ganize under  the  law  authorizing  a  "Coal  and  Iron  Police" 
would  restrict  such  organization  entirely  to  the  services  of 
the  particular  coal  and  iron  company  under  which  it  might 
11 


162  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

be  enrolled.  It  was  then  determined  by  .unanimous  vote  to 
organize  under  the  State  law,  as  part  of  the  National  Guard 
of  Pennsylvania,  if  the  organization  could  be  accepted  as  a 
separate  company. 

Mr.  Hitchcock,  from  the  committee  on  military  organiza- 
tion, stated  that  he  had  learned  from  the  Governor,  whose 
headquarters  were  in  a  train  on  the  track  in  front  of  the  store 
at  the  time,  that  there  was  room  for  one  company  of  fifty  in 
the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania  of  this  corner  of  the 
State.  But  it  was  found  that  we  had  already  enrolled  more 
than  a  hundred.  He  was  then  requested  to  call  upon  the 
Governor  and  learn  if  two  companies  could  not  be  accepted. 
During  his  absence  on  this  mission  Andrew  Bryson,  Jr.,  re- 
ported further  from  the  same  committee  recommending,  first, 
the  organization  of  a  battalion  of  three  or  more  companies  of 
fifty  men  in  each;  second,  that  these  companies  be  armed 
with  regular  United  States,  Springfield,  breech-loading  mus- 
kets ;  first,  because  they  are  deemed  as  good  as  any  rifle  now 
in  use,  and,  second,  because  they  could  be  furnished  by  the 
State,  and  so  diminish  greatly  the  expense  to  the  city;  third, 
for  uniform  the  committee  recommended  the  regulation  United 
States  Army  uniform,  with  cap  of  either  army  or  navy  pat- 
tern, and  :  with  the  same  color  as  the  coat;  fourth,  as  a  name 
for  the  battalion,  when  organized,  the  committee  suggested, 
"  The  Scranton  City  Guard." 

This  report  was  accepted  and  adopted,  subject  to  any  mod- 
ifications which  might  be  suggested  by  the  Governor,  who 
was  yet  to  be  heard  from. 

The  committee  on  finance  reported  that  on  account  of  the 
exciting  and  absorbing  events  of  the  last  two  days,  nothing 
had  been  done,  and  asked  to  be  continued,  which  was  done. 

Mr.  Ruthven,  from  the  committee  on  arms,  reported  that 
he  had  obtained  from  General  Osborne  an  order  to  Colonel 
Lewis,  in  this  city,  to  collect  the  rifles  then  at  Providence, 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD.         163 

which  were  left  by  the  disbanding  of  a  company  there  re- 
cently, and  that  these  guns  could  be  obtained  at  any  time, 
when  a  place  for  their  safe-keeping  could  be  secured. 

Dr.  Logan,  from  the  committee  on  armory,  reported  that 
this  committee  had  quietly  visited  most  of  the  vacant  rooms 
and  public  buildings  and  halls  of  the  city,  and  had  been  sur- 
prised to  find  how  many  of  them,  by  reason  of  weakness  of 
structure  and  by  regulations  of  insurance  companies,  were 
entirely  unsuitable  for  armory  or  drill  purposes.  There  were 
places  which  might  be  secured  ;  but  these  were  places  whose 
unfitness  were  apparent  to  the  inexperienced  eyes  of  the 
committee  itself.  The  conclusion  of  the  committee  was  that 
we  would  be  shut  up  to  one  of  two  alternatives  :  either  to  get 
possession  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had  origi- 
nated, or  served  about  all  the  good  things  in  the  city,  in 
the  last  twenty  years,  or  else  go  into  camp  and  build  a  fort  for 
the  company.  This  report  the  secretary  of  the  meeting  re- 
cords in  the  minutes  as  "Some  amusing  and  effective  re- 
marks," and  the  committee  was  continued. 

It  may  be  here  recorded  that  this  committee  did  continue. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  to  be  in  existence  still,  as  it  was  never 
discharged.  And  although  it  suffered  much  badgering  and 
criticism,  in  after  times,  it  persevered  until  a  suitable  armory, 
free  of  debt,  and  a  permanent  income  sufficient  to  keep  it  in 
repair,  was  provided  for  the  Scranton  City  Guard,  which  was 
then. about  to  be  organized. 

While  this  report  on  armory  was  being  discussed,  Mr. 
Hitchcock  returned  from  his  conference  with  the  Governor, 
and  reported  that  the  Governor  would  accept,  and  muster  into 
the  State  service  a  battalion  of  four  companies,  of  forty  men 
each,  which  would  give  them  a  Major  in  command.  But  he 
would  not  advise  them  to  attempt  to  enroll  so  large  a  body. 
It  was  immediately  resolved  that  an  attempt  should  be  made 
to  organize  the  four  companies.      Various  expedients  were 


164  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

resorted  to  to  divide  the  men  already  enrolled,  and  to  equal- 
ize the  companies  by  voluntary  changes  of  the  men  them- 
selves ;  but  all  the  attempts  ended  in  difficulties  which  could 
not  be  overcome.  At  length  Dr.  Logan  submitted  the  follow- 
ing proposition,  which  was  adopted  with  entire  unanimity,  to 
wit : — "  That  E.  H.  Ripple,  A.  Bryson,  Jr.,  James  E.  Brown 
and  R.  B.  Merriam  be  appointed,  each  with  a  separate  paper, 
to  enroll  men  for  a  single  company  each.  That  they  report 
their  success  in  this  enrollment  at  a  meeting  to  be  held  to- 
morrow night,  when  any  equalizing  of  the  four  companies 
which  may  be  necessary  shall  be  done  ;  first,  by  voluntary 
choice  of  the  men ;  and  second,  by  lot." 

Upon  the  passage  of  this  measure  the  meeting  immediately 
adjourned,  to  meet  on  the  nth  at  7  p.  m.,  in  the  same  place. 
The  work  of  enrollment  was  immediately  begun  by  these 
designated  gentlemen,  and  was  carried  on  all  through  the  next 
day,  with  the  help  of  those  who  had  gathered  under  each 
separate  standard. 

On  the  evening  of  the  1  ith  the  four  enrolling  officers  were 
ready,  and  as  soon  as  the  house  was  called  to  order,  made 
their  report,  reading  the  names  of  all  who  had  signed  their 
separate  rolls.  The  following  order,  presented  by  F.  L. 
Hitchcock,  was  then  adopted,  to  wit : — "  That  the  several 
companies  as  enrolled  form  immediately  in  separate  parts  of 
the  room,  in  line  ;  that  they  each  then  and  there  choose  a 
president  and  secretary ;  that  when  so  organized,  an  opportu- 
nity be  given  for  the  men  to  change  into  the  several  companies 
as  they  may  wish,  provided  that  no  company  shall  have  more 
than  forty  men,  until  all  the  companies  have  that  number. 
That  when  such  changes  have  been  effected,  each  company 
shall  at  once  enroll  on  the  blanks  prepared  for  mustering  into 
State  service ;  and  that  a  meeting  of  each  company  be  held 
on  Monday  night  next,  at  such  place  as  may  be  selected,  for 
the  informal  election  of  permanent  officers  ;  and  the  officers 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD.         165 

so  chosen  shall  proceed  to  recruit  their  companies  to  the  re- 
quired standard,  and  drill  the  same." 

This  order  was  immediately  carried  out,  and  each  company 
organized  by  the  election  of  a  chairman  and  secretary,  and 
then  adjourned,  to  meet  in  the  company's  store  on  Monday 
evening,  August  13th,  at  7  o'clock. 

On  the  evening  appointed  the  battalion  met  at  the  compa- 
ny's store,  and  each  company  proceeded  to  elect  its  own  offi- 
cers under  its  own  president  and  secretary.  The  first  election 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  Henry  A.  Coursen  for  Captain ; 
James  E.  Brown,  First  Lieutenant,  and  Louis  A.  Watres,  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant. 

The  second  company  elected  Andrew  Bryson,  Jr.,  Captain  ; 
Henry  A.  Knapp,  First  Lieutenant,  and  Edward  J.  Smith, 
Second  Lieutenant. 

The  third  company  elected  Ezra  H.  Ripple,  captain;  James 
A.  Linen,  first  lieutenant;  and  Fred.  L.  Hitchcock,  second 
lieutenant. 

The  fourth  company  elected  R.  B.  Merriam,  captain ;  Daniel 
Bartholomew,  first  lieutenant;  and  William  Kellow,  second 
lieutenant. 

The  committee  on  armory  then  reported  that  the  use  of  the 
hall  over  the  Second  National  Bank  had  been  secured  for  a 
time  for  the  use  of  the  battalion,  and  an  adjournment  was  im- 
mediately ordered  to  take  possession  of  it. 

This  was  the  first  march  of  the  four  companies  together. 
As  soon  as  possession  was  taken  the  proposition  of  Mr.  W. 
W.  Winton,  to  allow  this  hall  to  be  used  for  a  year,  at  a  rental 
of  four  hundred  dollars,  was  brought  before  the  meeting  and 
respectfully  declined. 

It  was,  however,  decided  to  retain  the  hall  until  other  ar- 
rangements could  be  made.  It  was  then  agreed  that  the  order 
and  rank  of  the  companies  should  be  determined  by  lot,  and 
that  Mr.  Boies  should  continue  as  president  of  the  battalion 


166  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

until  the  organization  should  be  mustered  into  service  and  a 
commander  elected.  The  lot  was  prepared  by  writing  the  first 
four  letters  of  the  alphabet  on  slips  of  paper,  which  were 
placed  in  a  hat.  These  were  drawn  out  by  the  captains  as 
follows :  Captain  Ripple  drew  D ;  Captain  Merriam,  B ;  Cap- 
tain Bryson,  A ;  and  Captain  Coursen,  C,  and*  the  companies 
immediately  took  the  name  and  position  in  line  which  these 
letters  assigned  them.  The  ranking  captain  was  authorized 
to  act  as  Major  until  a  major  should  be  chosen,  and  to  appoint 
an  Adjutant  to  act  until  an  adjutant  should  be  commissioned. 
Captain  Bryson,  as  acting  Major,  immediately  appointed  Charles 
R.  Smith,  of  Company  D,  temporary  Adjutant,  after  which  the 
battalion  was  dismissed  and  ordered  to  meet  at  the  hall  at 
eight  o'clock  on  Tuesday  evening,  August  14th. 

At  eight  o'clock,  on  the  14th  of  August,  1877,  the  battalion 
of  four  companies,  A,  B,  C  and  D,  met  under  command  of 
Captain  Bryson ;  and  as  soon  as  the  papers  could  be  com- 
pleted correctly,  they  were  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  part  of  the  National  Guard,  under 
the  title  of  "  The  Scranton  City  Guard."  This  mustering  in 
was  done  by  Major  Espy,  of  General  Osborne's  staff.  The 
officers,  as  chosen  by  the  several  companies,  were  sworn  in, 
and  in  due  time  received  their  commissions.  They  were  then 
authorized  to  elect  a  major,  under  the  presidency  of  Captain 
Bryson.  Henry  M.  Boies,  who  had  presided  at  the  first  and 
second  meetings  which  led  to  the  organization  of  the  four 
companies,  and  had  then  joined  his  family  at  the  seashore,  was 
elected  major,  with  general  good  feeling. 

Mr.  Boies  had  received  a  military  training,  in  some  measure, 
while  a  member  of  the  Ellsworth  Zouaves,  just  at  the  opening 
ol  the  civil  war,  but  had  been  prevented  by  family  obligations 
from  enlisting  when  so  many  of  these  Zouaves  marched  to  the 
front.  He  was,  therefore,  without  satisfactory  experience  for 
such  a  command,  according  to  his  own  judgment.     He  could 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MUSTER  OF  THE  GUARD.        167 

readily  discern  the  difficulties  and  responsibilities  of  the  posi- 
tion, and  felt  a  very  great  reluctance  to  the  undertaking.  But 
the  leading  citizens  of  the  city,  and  his  more  intimate  friends 
in  the  battalion,  had  much  more  confidence  in  his  fitness  and 
ability  than  he  had  himself.  Headed  by  Colonel  Morrow, 
of  the  United  States  Army;  who  had  taken  great  interest  in 
the  organization,  and  was  unceasing  in  his  efforts  to  make  it 
an  efficient  force  in  the  public  service,  these  citizens  and  friends 
pressed  upon  Mr.  Boies  the  acceptance  of  the  command.  After 
eight  days  of  hesitancy  and  consideration,  Major  Boies  yielded 
to  the  wish  of  his  friends,  and  the  choice  of  the  battalion  ;  and 
on  the  2 1st  of  August  called  the  officers  together  at  his  busi- 
ness office  on  Wyoming  Avenue.  After  a  careful  considera- 
tion of  the  condition  of  affairs  and  of  the  immediate  necessities 
of  the  Guard,  he  announced  his  acceptance  of  the  position ; 
and  began  at  once  to  make  arrangements  for  completing  the 
organization,  and  for  the  equipment  of  the  battalion. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  secure  drill-rooms  for  two  of 
the  companies  which  had  not  yet  been  able  to  find  such  a  place. 
Another  committee  was  directed  to  organize  a  band,  or  drum 
corps.  Lieutenant  Hitchcock  was  sent  to  Harrisburg  to  se- 
cure arms  and  accoutrements.  It  was  also  decided  to  order 
uniforms  for  all  the  men  from  Evans  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia, 
whose  representative  was  then  in  the  city,  and  offered  to  uni- 
form the  whole  battalion  within  ten  days. 

A  request  was  sent  to  Colonel  Morrow  to  allow  sergeants 
of  his  command  to  drill  the  companies  with  two  daily  company 
drills,  each  company  to  drill  over  the  Iron  Company's  store, 
using  the  rifles  there  stored  in  turn.  Thus  the  Scranton  City 
Guard  began  to  take  form  and  life.  Thus  began  its  upward 
and  onward  march. 


168  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER    X. 

EQUIPMENT,  DRILL  AND  GUARD  DUTY. 

Still  Facing  the  Mob — Search  for   the  Sinews  of  War — The  Organization  Armed 
and  on  its  Feet — Company  Rolls. 

FROM  the  time  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  citizens,  when 
the  question  of  securing  a  permanent  military  organiza- 
tion for  the  protection  of  the  city  against  the  disorders  inci- 
dent to  the  times,  was  discussed,  the  subject  of  the  necessary 
pecuniary  outlay  involved,  was,  more  or  less,  considered.  The 
thoughtful  men  in  the  city  looked  upon  this  burden  as  the 
most  difficult  to  manage.  The  strike  had  deranged  all  kinds 
of  business  in  the  valley.  The  strain,  upon  men  of  means,  and 
upon  all  manufacturing  companies,  as  well  as  upon  the  busi- 
ness of  mining  and  iron  manufacturing,  in  which  so  much 
capital  was  involved,  had  been,  and  continued  to  be,  fearful. 
The  outlook  thus  far  was  entirely  unpromising.  The  question 
with  every  business  man,  when  the  matter  of  sustaining  a 
military  guard  was  presented,  was,  not  what  sacrifices  he  might 
be  willing  to  make  for  the  public  good;  but  whether  his  ven- 
tures could  possibly  weather  the  storm;  or  his  business  stand- 
ing be  maintained  in  the  city.  There  were  no  signs  of  relief 
from  any  quarter,  and  as  long  as  the  strike  should  continue  no 
one  expected  such  signs.  The  earnings  of  30,000  workmen, 
paid  out  every  month,  by  the  great  corporations,  and  which 
were  almost  entirely  expended  in  the  community,  had  sud- 
denly and  entirely  ceased.  The  smaller  factories  were  pro- 
ducing   nothing   which    could   be  furnished  for  the  market, 


THE  EQUIPMENT  DRILL  AND  GUARD  DUTY.  169 

if  purchasers  could  be  found ;  while  the  price  of  living  was 
constantly  on  the  rise.  The  great  body  of  the  people  were 
unable  to  contribute  any  amount  for  the  equipping  of  a  bat- 
talion of  soldiers ;  and  the  young  men  who  had  volunteered( 
were,  least  of  all,  able  to  equip  themselves,  as  well  as  to 
give  their  services  to  the  State  without  pay. 

The  citizens'  meeting  on  the  3d  of  August  which  so  fully 
endorsed  the  action  of  the  Mayor,  and  of  the  citizens'  corps, 
did,  indeed,  promise  both  pecuniary  and  moral  support  in  all 
legitimate  efforts  to  secure  the  protection  of  the  city.  But 
their  action  did  not  contemplate  such  an  exigency  or  such  an 
outlay  as  the  organization  and  equipment  of  four  full  compa- 
nies of  soldiers,  as  a  permanent  institution  of  the  city,  involved. 
But  as  soon  as  the  matter  began  to  be  considered,  Dr.  B.  H. 
Throop  and  Mr.  H.  A.  Kingsbury  were  appointed  to  test  the 
question  of  the  pecuniar}'  support  which  might  be  relied  upon. 
The  Doctor,  always  public-spirited  and  benevolent,  started  a 
subscription  with  a  generous  contribution  of  his  own ;  and 
undertook  to  circulate  it  himself.  For  a  time  he  met  with 
cheering  success,  but  very  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
this  kind  of  work  did  neither  accord  with  his  taste,  nor  prom- 
ise such  a  degree  of  success  as  to  encourage  him  to  continue 
his  efforts. 

About  the  time  the  meeting  of  the  officers,  called  by  Major 
Boies  on  the  21st,  had  closed  its  sitting,  and  the  order  had 
been  given  to  have  all  members  of  the  battalion  measured  for 
the  uniforms  ordered  ;  this  question  of  funds,  to  meet  the  ex- 
penses, appeared  to  the  Major  and  his  associates,  in  its  true 
proportions.  To  those  who  knew  the  circumstances  of  most 
of  the  people,  there  was  little  of  promise  in  this  direction.  He 
at  once  called  Mr.  Kingsbury,  Dr.  Throop  and  Dr.  Logan  in 
consultation.  The  result  of  that  consultation  was  the  calling 
of  a  mass  meeting  of  citizens,  in  the  Opera  House,  two  days 
later,  to  consider  and  act  upon  the  necessities  of  the  case.  The 


170  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND  DEFENSE. 

call  for  this  meeting  of  citizens  appeared  in  the  "  Republican," 
on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  as  follows : — 

"TO  THE  CITIZENS  OF  SCRANTON. 
"Attention,  Gentlemen! — 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  law  and  order  loving  citizens  of  Scranton,  on  the 
2d  of  August,  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  recognizing  the  ob- 
ligations of  the  city  to  the  Mayor's  'special  police,' constituted  of  our 
brave  young  men  who  met  and  dispersed  the  mob  on  the  first  instant,  and 
kept  the  city  in  safety  until  the  troops  arrived.  The  undersigned  then 
and  afterwards  were  appointed  a  committee  to  circulate  a  paper  endors- 
ing and  encouraging  any  effort  to  organize  a"  permanent  military  force 
for  the  protection  of  the  city,  pledging  the  signers  to  such  co-operation  and 
support  as  might  be  needed  to  properly  furnish  and  equip  it  under  the 
laws  of  the  State.  We  have  prosecuted  with  energy  this  work,  and  are 
now  ready  to  report.  Four  military  companies  have  been  organized  of 
the  very  best  young  men  of  our  city,  and  are  required  by  the  Governor 
•to  be  mustered  for  inspection  on  the  nth  of  September  next.  No  time 
is  to  be  lost ;  your  committee  has  gone  as  far  as  they  can  without  further 
instructions.  We  therefore  call  a  meeting  of  all  law  and  order  loving 
citizens  of  Scranton,  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  on  Friday  evening,  the 
24th  instant,  at  half  past  seven  o'clock,  to  hear  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee and  take  such  action  as  the  exigency  requires.     Signed, 

"B.  H.  Throop. 

"S.  C.  Logan. 

"H.  M.  Boies. 

"H.  A.  Kingsbury. 
Scranton,  Aug.  22,  1887. 

In  accordance  with  this  call  a  number  of  the  citizens  met  at 
the  opera  house,  on  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  August.  The 
meeting  was  not  large,  but  it  was  very  earnest.  It  was  called 
to  order  by  Dr.  Throop,  and  was  organized  by  the  election  of 
Dr.  Logan,  Chairman,  and  Charles  Arthur,  M.D.,  Secretary. 
Messrs.  James  Blair,  Edward  Merrifield,  A.  G.  Gilmore,  Geo. 
W.  Fritz,  Dr.  Throop,  Dr.  R.  A.  Squire  and  Rev.  A.  A.  Marple 
were  made  Vice-Presidents.  Mayor  McKune  being  present 
was  invited  to  a  seat  on  the  platform,  and  was  received  with 
enthusiastic  cheers  as  he  came  forward  to  take  it. 


EQUIPMENT  DRILL  AND  GUARD  DUTY.  171 

Dr.  Throop  made  a  report  of  the  steps  he  had  taken  in  cir- 
culating a  subscription.  He  said  five  days  before  he  had 
started  with  a  paper  to  test  the  earnestness  of  the  people  in 
support  of  this  city  guard,  which  had  then  been  definitely  or- 
ganized, and  he  had  secured  nine  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  on 
the  subscription,  and  found  himself  about  ready  to  give  it  up,  as 
it  was  certain  that  three  thousand  dollars  must  be  raised,  if  the 
guard  was  placed  in  marching  order.  He  knew  of  no  way  to 
proceed  except  for  those  who  had  subscribed  to  increase  their 
subscriptions,  as  the  field  was  so  narrow.  He  closed  with  an 
earnest  appeal  on  this  behalf,  and  agreed  to  double  his  own 
subscription. 

The  Doctor's  report  was  followed  by  spirited  and  earnest 
addresses  by  the  Chairman,  by  Major  Boies,  by  A.  G.  Gilmore, 
A.  W.  Dickson,  E.  N.  Willard,  C.  F.  Mattes  and  L.  C.  Bor- 
tree  all  of  whom  agreed  to  increase  their  subscriptions  from 
twenty-five  to  a  hundred  dollars.  The  majority  of  the  gentle- 
men present  seemed  to  have  already  subscribed,  but  all  ex- 
pressed a  most  hearty  approval  of  the  effort  and  a  readiness  to 
increase  their  subscriptions,  as  far  as  able.  The  matter  was 
taken  up  practically,  and  five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  were 
added  to  the  subscription  before  the  meeting  adjourned,  mak- 
ing it  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  This  was  just  one-half  of  the  esti- 
mated amount  needed  to  meet  the  expenses  already  incurred,  or 
which  must  be  incurred  before  the  guard  is  ready  for  inspection. 
A  committee,  consisting  of  Dr.  Logan,  E.N.  Willard,  Esq.,  and 
A.  G.  Gilmore  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  this  subscrip- 
tion, and  push  it  to  the  required  amount.  The  meeting 
showed  its  appreciation  of  Major  Boies'  acceptance  of  the 
command  of  the  guard  and  of  the  steps  already  taken  by  very 
enthusiastic  cheers  when  he  arose  to  speak,  and  the  generous 
citizens  gave  every  desired  assurance  of  both  moral  and  pecu- 
niary support  of  the  battalion.  When  this  meeting  adjourned 
all  felt  confident  of  speedy  success,  notwithstanding  <he  strin- 


172  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND    DEFENSE. 

gency  of  the  times.  The  Major  and  the  Board  of  Officers  were 
encouraged  to  go  forward  in  the  work  of  equipping  the  battal- 
ion, with  the  confidence  that  the  business  men  of  the  city- 
would  certainly  sustain  them. 

The  committee  appointed  immediately  set  about  the  work  of 
completing  the  subscription.  Mr.  Gilmore  agreed  to  act  as 
treasurer,  while  the  chairman  and  Mr.  Willard  gave  themselves 
to  the  work  of  solicitation.  Within  a  very  few  days  this  com- 
mittee raised  the  sum  of  twenty-four  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
dollars  from  the  citizens  of  the  city.  They  also  received  as- 
surances from  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company,  the 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company,  and  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western  Railway  Company,  through  their 
officials,  of  sufficient  help  to  put  the  guard  in  full  equipment. 
The  character  of  the  citizens'  subscription  emphasized  most 
strikingly  the  stress  of  business  in  the  city  at  the  time,  as  well 
as  indicated  the  great  loss  that  had  fallen  upon  the  people 
through  the  derangement  caused  by  the  strike.  Perhaps  few 
subscriptions  ever  more  fully  tested  the  true  benevolence  and 
patriotic  spirit,  and  enlisted  more  generally  the  hearty  interest 
of  the  citizens.  A  synopsis  of  it  may  preserve  a  picture  of  the 
times,  although  little  conception  can  be  formed  by  generations 
afterwards  of  the  amount  of  self-denial  and  real  patriotism  it 
exhibits. 

There  were  seven  subscriptions,  of  one  hundred  dollars  each, 
and  five  of  fifty  dollars  each.  All  the  rest  were  forsmallersums, 
running  from  one  dollar  to  forty,  except  that  of  Alfred  Hand, 
Esq.,  who  gave  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  was  the 
largest  subscription  on  the  paper.  It  is  possible  that  the  fact 
that  he  had  been  compelled,  by  his  condition  of  health,  to  be 
entirely  away  from  the  depressing  influences,  and  out  of  sight 
of  the  derangement  of  business,  enabled  him  to  hold  his  place 
as  a  generous  leader  in  public  contingencies,  in  this  case  also. 
The   depression,  perplexity  and  absolute  bondage  of  business 


EQUIPMENT  DRILL  AND  GUARD  DUTY.  173 

men,  and  the  oppression  of  all  classes  of  respectable  people, 
by  reason  of  the  strike  and  wicked  stopping  of  the  industries 
of  the  valley  were  simply  intolerable. 

The  sufferings  of  miners  and  laborers  were  indeed  many  and 
great,  and  daily  grew  more  severe,  through  their  foolish  per- 
sistence and  their  listening  to  and  following  demagogues,  who 
had  nothing  to  lose.  But  the  strikers  carried  down  with  them 
a  host  of  the  best  business  men  of  the  community,  wherever 
their  blind  strike  stopped  the  wheels  of  industry.  The  solicit- 
ing committee  were  profoundly  impressed  with  the  self-sacrific- 
ing patriotism  of  the  people  who  pledged  their  purse,  as  well 
as  personal  influence,  to  place  the  city  in  a  condition  of  secu- 
rity against  lawlessness.  This  outlay  of  twenty-five  hundred 
dollars  was  indeed  but  the  beginning  of  the  burden  that  was 
to  be  taken  up  at  that  time ;  but  to  the  honor  of  the  people  it 
should  be  recorded,  that  they  never  laid  it  down  until  the  City 
Guard  had  been  placed  on  a  sure  and  permanent  basis. 

On  the  23d  day  of  August,  two  days  after  he  had  signified 
his  acceptance  of  the  position  to  which  he  had  been  called  with 
such  unanimity,  both  by  the  soldiers  and  citizens,  Major  Boies 
issued  his  first  military  order,  which  afforded  general  satisfac- 
tion; the  spirit  of  which  he  carried  out  with  great  perseverance. 
Indeed  this  order  gave  cast  to  the  whole  work  of  the  battalion, 
and  had  much  to  do  with  determining  the  character  and  posi- 
tion which  the  organization  speedily  attained  in  the  commu- 
nity.    It  was  as  follows  : 

"  Headquarters  Battalion  Scranton  City  Guard,  ) 

August  23d,  1877.       J 
"  General  Order  No.  1  : 

"First : — Deeply  sensible  of  the  serious  nature  of  the  trials  to  which 
the  free  institutions  of  our  country  are  now  being  subjected  ;  that  liberty 
can  only  be  preserved  to  all  by  the  quick  and  sure  restraint  of  license ; 
that  freedom  must  be  maintained  by  force,  if  necessary ;  that  upon  the 
disciplined  and  armed  military  force  of  every  nation  must  depend  the 
security  and  permanence  of  its  government  in  times  of  trial ;  and  that  it 


174  A   CITY'S   DANGER   AND    DEFENSE. 

is  the  paramount  duty  of  every  good  citizen,  especially  of  this  country,  to 
be  prepared,  when  it  is  needed,  to  give  his  Government  his  most  efficient 
military  service, — we  have  organized  this  battalion.  As  soldiers,  we  can 
have  no  interests  or  sympathies  with  any  class  in  the  discharge  of  our 
duty.  We  are  to  simply  and  firmly  support  the  proper  representatives 
of  our  Government  and  obey  their  orders.  Our  first  lessons  must  be  in 
the  principles  of  implicit  obedience  to  our  superiors  in  rank,  and  in  ac- 
quiring the  strictest  discipline. 

"  You  have  elected  me  your  Commandant,  and  I  have  not  felt  at  lib- 
erty to  decline  the  honor.  I  shall  expect  and  require  from  you  while  dis- 
charging the  responsible  duties  of  the  command  all  the  respect  and  obe- 
dience due  the  Major  of  the  Battalion,  and  whish  the  Major  in  turn  must 
render  his  superior  officers.  Patient  and  persistent  drill  are  necessary  to 
render  you  efficient,  and  while  undergoing  this  drill,  let  the  officers  re- 
member that  patience  is  required  from  them  no  less  than  from  their  men. 
Profane  language  is  unnecessary  and  wicked,  and  it  is  hoped  and  ex- 
pected that  while  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  officers  and  men  will 
refrain  from  its  use.  Let  it  be  the  laudable  ambition  of  every  officer 
and  man  to  make  for  this  Battalion  a  reputation  for  discipline  and  effi- 
ciency. 

"Second: — The  following  appointments  are  announced  as  the  Com- 
missioned Staff  of  the  Battalion.  They  will  take  rank  and  be  respected 
and  obeyed  accordingly  from  this  date: 

"  F.  L.  Hitchcock,  First  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant. 
"  H.  A.  Kingsbury,  Captain  and  Commissary. 
"James  Ruthven,  First  Lieutenant  and  Quartermaster. 
"  N.  Y.  Leet,  First  Lieutenant  and  Asst.  Surgeon. 
"S.  C.  Logan,  D.D.,  Captain  and  Chaplain. 

"  H.  M.  Boies, 

"  Major  Commanding  Battalion." 

Without  delay,  and  with  great  energy,  the  major  set  about 
the  work  his  position  had  brought  him,  and  found  energetic 
and  faithful  helpers  in  all  his  officers  of  the  line,  as  well  as  of 
the  field  and  staff.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  24th  he  called 
the  officers  together,  and  formed  them  into  an  organization 
under  the  title  of  "The  Board  of  Officers,"  presenting  a  body 
of  formulated  regulations  and  by-laws  which  provided  for  a 
complete  organization  for  the  prosecution  of  work  and  an 


EQUIPMENT  DRILL  AND    GUARD   DUTY.  175 

efficient  division  of  service;  especially  in  all  civil  matters  con- 
nected with  the  work  of  the  battalion.  This  organization, 
with  its  standing  committees  and  special  officers,  continued 
almost  without  amendment  or  readjustment  for  more  than 
five  years.  During  about  half  that  time  the  Board  met  once 
a  month,  or  oftener ;  but  after  the  battalion  had  adjusted 
itself  to  the  service,  and  its  pressing  necessities  had  been  met, 
it  was  found  that  meeting  once  each  quarter  would  serve 
efficiently  the  ends  of  the  organization.  This  "Board  of  Of- 
ficers "  still  exists,  and  holds  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  its  way, 
originating  and  controlling  all  measures  of  a  civil  nature  which 
can  in  any  wise  affect  the  well-being  and  efficiency  of  the 
Guard. 

The  work  of  equipping  and  drilling  both  officers  and  men 
was  manifestly  the  first  and  urgent  necessity.  The  presence 
in  the  city  at  that  time  of  the  United  States  troops,  and  of  the 
different  regiments  of  the  National  Guard,  which  were  en- 
camped at  various  places  in  and  about  the  city,  very  mate- 
rially aided  in  infusing  a  military  spirit,  and  in  transforming 
the  citizens,  of  which  the  Guard  was  composed,  into  true 
soldiers,  ready  to  obey  all  orders,  leaving  the  responsibility 
with  the  officers,  where  it  belonged. 

It  was,  indeed,  both  a  difficult  and  delicate  work  to  elim- 
inate, with  the  smallest  amount  of  friction,  the  idea  of  the 
civil  control  of  a  volunteer  military  organization  whose  men 
in  the  ranks  were  the  equals  and  associates,  in  daily  business 
and  social  life  of  all  the  officers  in  command.  In  this  di- 
rection the  Major  found  his  greatest  trial,  and  it  is  but  justice 
to  record  that  his  perseverance  and  manly  fidelity,  in  a  short 
time,  won  for  him  and  for  the  Guard  a  victory  in  which  all 
right-minded  men  of  the  city  rejoiced.  He  was  greatly  aided 
in  all  his  unaccustomed  duty  by  Colonel  H.  A.  Morrow  and 
his  associate  officers  of  the  13th  U.  S.  Infantry,  as  well  as  by 
his  field  and  staff,  and  he  took  occasion,  at  every  suitable 
opportunity,  to  acknowledge  their  generous  help  and  fidelity. 


176  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

For  the  first  two  weeks,  or  more,  the  companies  were  or- 
dered to  drill  twice  a  day.  They  were  earnestly  encouraged 
to  assume  the  step  and  style  of  the  soldier,  and  this,  with  the 
drill  of  officers,  commissioned  and  non-commissioned,  con- 
sumed at  least  the  half  of  every  day,  and  the  whole  of  every 
evening;  yet  the  men  stood  to  the  work  without  complaint. 

Captain  Bryson,  having  graduated  at  a  military  school 
where  he  had  been  taught  to  command  a  battalion  of  four 
companies,  drilled  Company  A  himself,  and  did  it  with 
marked  efficiency  and  success.  But,  at  -the  request  of  Major 
Boies  and  the  officers  in  command  of  the  other  companies, 
Colonel  Morrow  detailed  Sergeant  Shawe  to  drill  Company  B, 
Sergeant  Vine  for  Company  C,  and  Sergeant  Leary  for  Com- 
pany D.  These  officers  proved  themselves  excellent  instruc- 
tors, and  were  all  members  of  the  Third  United  States  In- 
fantry. The  field,  staff  and  line  officers  all  went  into  the 
ranks,  and  drilled  with  the  men  as  often  as  their  duties  per- 
mitted, and  the  effect  of  the  work  soon  became  manifest  in 
all  the  companies. 

On  the  27th  of  August,  in  response  to  the  mission  of  Lieu- 
tenant Hitchcock  to  Harrisburg,  a  lot  of  fifty-calibre  Spring- 
field breech-loading  rifles  arrived  in  the  city,  which  were  sent 
by  Adjutant-General  Latta  for  the  arming  of  the  Guard.  On 
the  same  day  Major  Boies  completed  the  appointment  of  his 
Staff,  and  issued  General  Order  No.  2,  which  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  Headquarters  Battalion  Scranton  City  Guard,  | 
Scranton,  Pa.,  August  27th,  1877.        i 

"  General  Order  No.  2  : 

"The  following  appointments  are  hereby  announced  as  the  Non- 
commissioned Staff  of  this  Battalion:  Henry  N.  Dunnell,  Sergeant-Ma- 
jor ;  S.  G.  Kerr,  Quartermaster  Sergeant ;  George  H.  Maddocks,  Commis- 
sary Sergeant ;  William  W.  Ives,  Hospital  Steward ;  M.  D.  Smith  and 
Charles  R.  Smith,  Principal  Musicians.  They  will  be  obeyed  and  re- 
spected accordingly.     By  command  of  Major  H.  M.  Boies. 

"  F.  L.  Hitchcock, 

"  First  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant." 


EQUIPMENT   DRILL   AND   GUARD   DUTY.  177 

All  these  officers  of  the  non-commissioned  staff  enterea  with 
zeal  upon  their  duties  and  fulfilled  the  same  to  the  advantage 
of  the  Guard  and  the  satisfaction  of  their  commander. 

The  continuance  of  the  lawless  spirit  in  the  region  was  mani- 
fested in  attempts  to  intimidate  and  injure  the  engineers,  who 
were  running  the  pumps  at  the  mines,  and  the  Guardsmen 
placed  for  their  protection.  On  the  27th  of  August  there  was 
created  a  positive  excitement  and  indignation  by  a  dastardly 
attempt  to  wreck  a  train  on  the  D.  &  H.  Company's  Gravity 
Road,  which  was  carrying  an  excursion  of  citizens  with  their 
wives  to  Honesdale.  This  excursion,  was  gotten  up  especially 
for  the  benefit  of  Col.  Morrow  and  a  company  of  the  United 
States  officers,  who  were  in  command  of  the  troops  stationed 
here.  This  attempt  was  made  by  the  displacement  and  spiking 
of  a  switch  at  a  culvert,  over  a  ravine  some  forty  feet  deep.  The 
party  providentially  escaped  with  some  severe  bruises,  a  brake- 
man  alone  having  been  seriously  wounded. 

This  dastardly  wickedness  deeply  impressed  the  people  with 
a  sense  of  the  dangers  to  which  the  city  was  yet  exposed,  and 
the  work  of  drilling  the  companies  went  on  with  renewed  en- 
ergy. 

As  soon  as  the  guns  arrived,  the  four  companies  drilled 
during  four  evenings  of  each  week  as  companies,  and  had  squad 
drills  in  the  afternoons  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  could  not 
attend  the  night  work. 

The  uniforms  ordered  for  the  battalion,  which  were  all  or- 
dered from  personal  measures,  began  to  arrive  on  the  nth  of 
September,  and  on  the  next  day  the  Major  issued  his  first 
order  for  open-air  drills  of  the  companies.  This  was  specially 
necessary,  because  none  of  the  halls  in  the  city  which  could 
be  had  were  large  enough  to  permit  company  movements; 
besides,  it  was  deemed  best  for  the  pacification  of  the  city  that 
there  should  be  an  open  show  of  the  strength  and  spirit  of  the 
force  on  the  side  of  order.  This  order  required  the  respective 
12 


178  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

companies  to  assemble  every  Friday  at  3.30  p.  m.,  uniformed 
and  equipped,  to  proceed  under  arms  to  such  places  in  the  city 
as  their  commander  might  select  for  open-air  drills;    and  the 
drum-major  was  directed  to  see  that  each  company  was  pro- 
vided with  music.     Musicians  were  detailed  from  the  ranks  of 
each  company  to  enable  him  to  fulfill  this  order.     Pursuant  to 
this  order,  Companies  A,  B  and  C  made  their  first  appearance 
in  uniform  on  the  14th  of  September,  and  greatly  increased 
the  interest  of  the  people  in  the  success  of  the  Guard.     Com- 
pany D  was  prevented  from  appearing  at  this  drill  by  the  fail- 
ure to  receive  their  uniforms.  Quite  a  number  of  explanations 
of  their    failure  pointed  the  wit  of  their  more  fortunate  associ- 
ates. One  man  gravely  explained  to  his  fellows  that  the  mem- 
bers of  Company  D,  being  so  much  broader  in  the  shoulders, 
and  wider  in  the  girth,  than  ordinary  soldiers,  a  sufficiency  of 
cloth  could  not  be  found,  until  the  importers  could  be  heard 
from,  to  uniform  so   large  a  body  of  heavy  citizens.     In  fact 
the  chief  difference  between  Company  D  and  the  other  com- 
panies was  the  difference  which  very  naturally  exists  between 
men  and  young  men.  It  was  made  up  of  solid,  substantial  men, 
who  felt  the  full  burden  of  manhood  upon  them,  and  who  had 
volunteered  in  the  Guard  for  conscientious  service,  and  could 
be  little  affected  by  the  fitness  or  unfitness  of  uniforms.     It 
was  soon  found  that  this  company  ;  which  the  boys  made  them- 
selves happy  in  saying,  required  so  much  room  in  which  to 
turn  around  "by  ones,"  to  say  nothing  of  by  fours  ;  so  much 
space  to  manceuver  in  by  company ;  and  so  much  cloth  to  give 
it  military  standing,  that  the  limits  of  the  city  must  be  extended 
to  give  safe  elbow  room;  when  marched  up  in  front  of  the  tar- 
get, where  the  use  of  guns  was  to  be  tested,  or  had  its  members 
placed  on  guard,  where   unflinching  service  or  fatigue  duty 
were  called    for,  it  very  seldom  failed  to  bring  the  rear  of  the 
battalion  to  the  front.     It  carried  off  the  prizes  for  distinction 
in  marksmanship  with  remarkable  persistence  and  ease  through 


EQUIPMENT   DRILL  AND   GUARD   DUTY.  179 

a  number  of  years.     Company  D  was  never  estimated  as  so 
many  guns,  but  as  so  many  men. 

Each  company  had  its  special  friends,  indeed,  in  the  city 
from  their  first  appearance  in  uniform.  Pleasant  and  manly 
competition  was  inaugurated  between  the  companies,  in  which 
citizens  and  soldiers  seemed  to  be  alike  interested.  The  com- 
munity soon  divided  itself  into  a  sort  of  reserve  for  each  of  the 
companies,  and  helped  greatly  to  keep  the  enthusiasm  alive 
and  healthy.  On  the  first  public  drill,  Captain  Bryson  exer- 
cised Company  A  on  Wyoming  Avenue,  between  Vine  and 
Mulberry  Streets,  in  view  of  an  immense  body  of  delighted 
spectators.  Captain  Merriam  drilled  Company  B  on  what  was 
then  known  as  the  base  ball  ground,  on  the  corner  of  Wyom- 
ing Avenue  and  Spruce  Street,  while  Captain  Coursen  took 
Company  C,  by  the  generous  invitation  of  the  owner,  Mr.  J.  C. 
Piatt,  to  the  beautiful  grounds  surrounding  his  family  resi- 
dence, between  Jefferson  Avenue  and  Ridge  Row.  At  that 
time  there  was  no  yard  or  garden  in  the  city  which  was  deemed 
too  good  for  these  companies  to  march  over. 

Major  Boies,  with  the  officers  of  his  field  and  staff,  in  uni- 
form, accompanied  by  Colonel  Morrow,  of  the  United  States 
troops,  Captain  Pratt,  of  a  crack  company  of  the  13th  In- 
fantry, and  Colonel  Howard,  then  in  command  of  the  National 
Guard,  stationed  in  the  city,  visited  each  company  in  turn,  and 
with  great  pleasure  noted  the  efficiency  displayed  after  a  single 
month's  drill.  A  large  number  of  citizens  gathered  as  inter- 
ested spectators,  and  cheered  enthusiastically  the  movements 
of  the  different  companies,  and  the  enthusiasm  became  gene- 
ral. In  the  judgment  of  the  people  great  progress  had  indeed 
been  made  in  thirty  days.  The  companies  had  been  filled  up 
almost  to  their  maximum  numbers;  they  had  been  armed, 
uniformed  and  equipped  ;  and  the  whole  expense,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  guns,  which  were  furnished  by  the  State,  had 
been  provided  for  by  the  contributions  of  the  boys  and  their 


ISO  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

friends.  Both  officers  and  men  had  advanced  so  rapidly,  in 
the  study  and  exercise  of  the  drill,  as  to  be  able  to  execute  all 
the  necessary  movements  of  the  company  and  battalion  with 
creditable  accuracy,  and  without  fear  of  confusion.  This  suc- 
cess was  the  more  cheering  from  the  fact  that  no  rooms  suita- 
able  to  free  movement,  even  of  companies,  could  be  had  in  the 
city;  and  for  most  of  the  time  there  were  only  a  few  copies  of 
Upton's  Tactics  in  the  city.  The  copies  on  hand  were  used  as 
common  property,  and  were  passed  from  one  officer  to  another 
as  exigency  demanded.  Company  D  received  their  uniforms 
four  days  after  the  first  open-air  appearance  of  the  other  com- 
panies, and  on  September  19th  made  their  first  public  appear- 
ance with  forty  men  in  line,  and  by  their  soldierly  bearing  and 
steadiness  of  movement  secured  very  favorable  criticism  in  the 
public  papers.  After  a  completion  of  their  drill  they  joined 
Company  A,  and  these  two  companies  gave  the  first  of  the 
street  parades,  which  afterwards  became  so  effective  in  keep- 
ing alive  the  interest  of  the  city  in  its  Guard,  and  which  very 
early  led  the  mass  of  the  citizens  both  to  feel  and  express  their 
pride  and  confidence  in  the  City  Guard. 

As  mustered  into  service  on  the  14th  of  August,  and  thus 
equipped  and  accepted  by  the  public  on  the  17th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1877,  as  ready  for  service,  the  Scranton  City  Guard  was 
constituted  of  the  following  members,  "all  present  or  ac- 
counted for"  : — 

Officers. 

Henry  M.  Boies Major  Commanding. 

Staff' Officers. 

Frederick    L.   Hitchcock 1st  1  Lieutenant   and  Adjutant. 

Henry  A.  Kingsbury Captain  and  Commissary. 

Nathan  Y.  Leet,  M.  D 1st  Lieutenant  and  Asst.  Surgeon. 

James  Ruthven 1st  Lieutenant  Quartermaster. 

Samuel  C.  Logan,  D.  D Captain  and  Chaplain. 

Non-  Cotmnissioned  Staff. 
Henry  N.  Dunnell,  M.  D Sergeant  Major. 


EQUIPMENT  DRILL  AND   GUARD   DUTY.  181 

Samuel  G.  Kerr Quartermaster  Sergeant. 

George  H.  Maddocks Commissary  Sergeant. 

Steward. 
William  W.  Ives Hospital  Steward. 

Musicians. 
M.  D.  Smith  and  Charles  R.  Smith Principal  Musicians. 

COMPANY  A. 
Officers. 

Andrew  Bryson,  Jr Captain. 

Henry  A.  Knapp ist  Lieutenant. 

Edward  J.  Smith 2d  Lieutenant. 

Serge ants. 

Robert  Macmillan... ist  Sergeant. 

H.  A.  Mace 2d  Sergeant. 

James  P.  Hosie 3d  Sergeant. 

John  C.  Highriter 4lh  Sergeant. 

Henry  E.  Hess 5th  Sergeant. 

Corporals. 

George  F.  Barnard ist  Corporal. 

John  P.  Albro 2d  Corporal. 

M.  J.  Andrews 3d  Corporal. 

S.  V.  D.  Huntington 4th  Corporal. 

William  A.  Duer 5th  Corporal. 

Friend  B.  Watrous 6th  Corporal. 

Edward  S.  Dolph 7*h  Corporal. 

Isaac  Post 8th  Corporal. 

Privates. 

Charles  Arthur,  F.  C.  Hand,  Robert  Reeves, 

Charles  Bartlett,  S.  T.  Hayes,  A.  K.  Roberts, 

W.  S.  Blanchard,  Frank  Henn,  T.  W.  Riley, 

William  S.  Boyd,  George  F.  Jones,  J.  A.  Robertson, 

E.  F.  Baldwin,  Charles  A.  Kramer,  W.  G.  Robertson, 

Edward  Brady,  Wm.  L.  K.-igbaum,  C.  M.  Sheffel, 

O.  W.  Beesecker,  J.  G.  Leyshon,  A.  H.  Schlager, 

Fred  Barnard,  Arthur  C.  Logan,  M.  D.  Smith, 

M.  I.  Corbett,  Harry  V.  Logan,  F.  D.  Smith, 


182 


A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


E.  G.  Coursen, 
A.  J.  Connell, 
Josiah  Chamberlin, 
Wharton  Dickinson, 

C.  W.  Doud, 
George  B.  Foster, 

D.  L.  Foote, 
John  H.  Hosie, 


James  H.  Torrey, 
Geo.  S.  Throop, 
W.  M.  Marple, 
J.  A.  Marvin, 
A.  J.  Norrman, 
Wm.  O'Connell, 
Wm.  W.  Paterson, 
O.  B.  Partridge, 


A.  C.  Smith, 

C.  W.  Thompson, 

Robert  Widdowfield, 

C.  F.  Walters, 

C.  G.  Widner, 

Edward  M.  Vernoy. 


Making  a  total  of  65  in  Company  as  by  the  certified  roll. 


COMPANY  B.     , 

Officers. 

R.  B.  Merriam Captain. 

Daniel  Bartholomew 1st  Lieutenant. 

William  Kellow 2nd  Lieutenant. 

Sergeants. 

Charles  R.  Fuller 1st  Sergeant. 

J.  D.  Evans 2nd  Sergeant. 

H.  R.  Madison 3rd  Sergeant. 

J.  N.  Godshall 4th  Sergeant. 

William  J.  Watts 5th  Sergeant. 

Corporals. 

L.  C.  Bortree 1st  Corporal. 

John  Bailey 2nd  Corporal. 

C.  K.  Swift 3rd  Corporal. 

L.  D.  Kemmerer 4th  Corporal. 

John  T.  Howe . 5th  Corporal. 

H.  G.  Bacon 6th  Corporal. 

Frank  McFarland 7th  Corporal. 

W.  S.  Millar 8th  Corporal. 

Coynpany  Clerk. 
Thomas  H.  Watts Company  Clerk. 

Musicians. 

A.  K.  Roberts Musician. 

W.  D.  Roberts Musician. 

Frank  G.  Wolf. Musician. 


EQUIPMENT   DRILL  AND   GUARD   DUTY.  183 

Privates. 

W.  Clayton  Bushnell,  D.  L.  Foote,  W.  H.  Pierce, 

W.  A.  W.  Brightman,  George  W.  Gager,  James  P.  Riach, 

Edw.  F.  Chamberlin,  H.  M.  Hannah,  B.  S.  Robinson, 

Frank  Courtright,  L.  M.  Horton,  Stephen  H.  Rice, 

A.  L.  Carr,  M.  D.  Hine,  E.  P.  Reynolds, 

George  W.  Crane,  Jacob  Harris,  Joseph  R.  Silkman, 

George  A.  Campbell,  John  S.  Luce,  John  Taylor, 

John  J.  Coleman,  William  K.  Logan,  Perry  G.  Tiffany, 

Frank  E.  Doud,  Andrew  D.  Lord,  James  W.  Umphred, 

George  W.  Dunn,  Alex.  McWilliams,  James  W.  Vail, 

Joseph  C.  Dean,  C.  D.  Mackey,  John  Whitbeck, 

J.  W.  Evans,  Lloyd  Marteeny,  William  H.  Young, 

James  A.  Fuller,  George  A.  Morris,  J.  D.  Stone, 

H.  G.  Fuller,  William  McDonald,  Edward  M.  Soellner. 

William  M.  Fowler,  Joseph  H.  Mulley, 

Making  a  total  of  sixty-four  in  company,  as  according  to 

their  roll. 

COMPANY   C. 

Officers. 

H.  A.  Coursen Captain. 

Louis  A.  Watres ist  Lieutenant. 

James  E.  Brown ist  Lieutenant  (resigned). 

Charles  E.  Judson 2nd  Lieutenant  (elected). 

Sergeants, 

W.  D.  Manness ist  Sergeant. 

Edward  C.  Mattes 2nd  Sergeant. 

Edward  J.  Dimmick 3rd  Sergeant. 

J.  H.  Culver 4th  Sergeant. 

C.  Seward 5th  Sergeant. 

Corporals. 

Frank  H.  Clemons ist  Corporal. 

James  Moir 2nd  Corporal. 

Charles  W.  Gunster 3rd  Corporal. 

W.  B.  Henwood 4th  Corporal. 

T.  F.  Penman 5th  Corporal. 

J.  Vosburgh 6th  Corporal. 

J.  S.  Walden 7th  Corporal. 

W.  D.  Schoonover 8th  Corporal. 


184  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Musicians. 

Uriah  Armstrong Musician. 

Wesley  Baptist Musician. 

W.  L.  Culver Musician. 

W.  C.  Cowles Musician. 

J.  White Musician. 

Privates. 

Stephen  Ayola,  Jr.,  A.  R.  Gould,  M.  V.  Roselle, 

W.  H.  Bradbury,  G.  R.  Harper,  Amel  Roth, 

Rudolph  Bensley,  E.  P.  Hoffman,  J.  Riesig, 

H.  Bergerhoff,  T.  Holcombe,  A.  Snow, 

Henry  Battin,  F.  J.  Hedrick,  V.  A.  Simrell, 

Andrew  P.  Bedford,  A.  V.  Kiersted,  H.  B.  Sweet, 

Daniel  Beesecker,  William  Kendall,  S.  S.  Schoonover, 

F.  H.  Connell,  E.  H.  Lynde,  J.  W.  Schlager, 

J.  B.  Cust,  H.  H.  Merrill,  William  Vanness, 

H.  E.  Ferber,  Richard  O.  Manness,      Leopold  Vanness, 

C.  Farnham,  Arthur  Miller,  John  Vosburg, 

H.  J.  Gunster,  James  Nolan,  G.  E.  Wolf, 

C  H.  Gaul,  F.  W.  Rice,  Edward  Wagstaff, 

W.  A.  Gaul,  W.  B.  Rockwell,  A..  B.  Walter. 
L.  K.  Gleason, 

Total,  sixty-five  men,  as  by  certified  company  roll. 


COMPANY  D. 

Officers. 

Ezra  H.  Ripple Captain. 

James  A.  Linen ist  Lieutenant. 

Samuel  Hines 2nd  Lieutenant. 

Sergeants. 

J.  L.  Harding ist  Sergeant. 

Edward  S.  Jackson 2nd  Sergeant. 

George  F.  Millet 3rd  Sergeant. 

David  T.  Lawson 4th  Sergeant. 

Samuel  H.  Stevens 5th  Sergeant. 

Corporals. 
E.  C.  Fowler ist  Corporal. 


EQUIPMENT   DRILL  AND   GUARD   DUTY.  185 

H.  T.  Porter 2nd  Corporal. 

George  F.  Bentley. 3rd  Corporal. 

Charles  H.  Lindsay..... 4th  Corporal. 

Alexander  W.  Dickson 5th  Corporal. 

H.  L.  Krigbaum 6th  Corporal. 

Jacob  Bryant 7th  Corporal. 

Henry  Belin,  Jr 8th  Corporal. 

Privates. 

R.  W.  Archbald,  A.  C.  Drinker,  W.  E.  Plumley, 

William  H.  Atkinson,  H.  K.  Grant,  G.  Frank  Reynolds, 

William  L.  Acker,  George  B.  Hand,  E.  P.  Reynolds, 

Austin  B.  Blair,  Henry  Hagan,  E.  B.  Sturges, 

J.  Selden  Blair,  George  H.  Ives,  B.  F.  Stanton, 

George  L.  Breck,  W.  W.  Ives,  Charles  R.  Smith, 

Charles  F.  Bryant,  E.  W.  Ives,  Geo.  Sanderson,  Jr., 

Montrose  Barnard,  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  Hiram  Sayers, 

James  L.  Connell,  N.  J.  W.  Kingsbury,  Geo.  B.  Thompson, 

M.  D.  Cornwall,  Saml  A.  Lackey,  Henry  Van  Bergen, 

George  W.  Carlton,  James  McWilliams,  Charles  H.  Welles, 

A.  C.  Dennis,  George  A.  Morris,  Louis  T.  Mattes, 

J.  B.  Dennis,  Samuel  B.  Price,  H.  W.  Kingsbury. 


In  all  fifty-five  men  by  the  certified  company  roll. 

These  officers  and  men  constituted  the  original  organiza- 
tion of  the  Scranton  City  Guard.  By  their  family  and  social 
ties  they  connected  the  Guard  directly  with  all  the  best  fami- 
lies, and  business  enterprises,  of  the  city.  The  people  of  the 
city  felt  a  pride  in  their  own  brave  boys,  which  was  intensified 
when  they  saw  them  in  the  uniform  of  the  Guard.  The  citizens 
appreciated  the  patriotism  and  manliness  of  these  young  men, 
who,  at  so  much  sacrifices  of  time,  personal  taste  and  comfort, 
had  undertaken  to  fit  themselves  for  such  duty.  It  was  indeed 
felt  that  the  safety  of  the  city  had  already,  in  great  measure, 
been  secured  against  whatever  of  lawlessness  might  appear. 
In  these  companies  there  was  both  beauty  and  strength,  which 
were  greatly  increased  when  they  kept  step  together. 


186  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

"WHO  COMES  THERE?" 

The  Guard  Mount — Dress  and  Undress — Test  of  the  use  of  the  Guard — The  Second 
Night-watch — The  City  sleeps  well  behind  its  Defense  now. 

AS  soon  as  uniforms  had  been  provided  for  the  men  of  all 
the  Companies,  the  daily  drills  went  on  with  new  enthus- 
iasm. But  when  guns  had  been  placed  in  their  hands  the 
realities  of  State  service  began  to  make  their  impression.  It 
at  once  became  necessary  to  have  some  place  where  these 
arms  and  other  State  property  could  be  safely  kept,  when  not 
in  the  hands  of  the  soldiers  on  duty.  In  the  present  condition 
of  passion  and  excitement  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
Guard  should  have  an  armory  of  some  sort,  and  that  a  sys- 
tematic Guard  mount  should  be  at  once  established.  To  this 
necessity  the  Major  turned  his  attention  with  his  well-known 
thoroughness  and  promptness,  with  what  system  and  success 
will  speedily  appear. 

Arrangements  were  completed  about  the  28th  of  September 
for  the  occupancy  of  the  Hall,  on  the  fourth  floor,  over  the 
Second  National  Bank,  on  Lackawanna  Avenue,  as  an  armory. 
Under  the  direction  of  Quarter  Master  Ruthven  it  was  fitted 
up  with  gun-racks  and  conveniences  for  storing  away  accoutre- 
ments ;  and  this  hall  soon  put  on  a  decidedly  military  appear- 
ance, and  was  recognized  as  "  The  Armory."  On  the  29th,  as 
soon  as  this  armory  was  set  in  order,  the  Major  issued  his 
General  Order,  arranging  for  a  guard ;  and  for  any  effective 
service,  which  the  state  of  things  in  and  about  the  city,  might 
require,  as  follows  : — 


WHO   COMES   THERE?  187 

"  General  Order  No  5. 

"  Headquarters  Battalion,  Scranton  City  Guard. 
Scranton,  Pa.,  September  29th,  1877. 

First:  From  9  o'clock' p.m.  of  this  date,  September  29th,  1877,  the 
armory  of  the  Battalion  will  be  guarded  according  to  the  following  regu- 
lations, to  wit :  Beginning  with  the  first  Company  ;  each  Company 
Commander  will  be  responsible  for  the  care  of  the  armory  for  one  week, 
and  will  be  Battalion  Officer  of  the  day  during  his  tour  of  duty.  He  will 
turn  over  his  charge,  and  instructions  to  his  successor  at  the  armory  at  9 
o'clock  p.m.  of  each  Saturday. 

'■'Second:  A  corporal  and  six  men  will  be  posted  on  guard  at  the 
armory  at  to  o'clock  P.M.  on  nights  when  it  is  occupied  for  drill,  and  at 
9  o'clock  p.m.  on  all  other  nights,  and  be  relieved  from  duty  at  six 
o'clock  A.M. 

''The  officer  of  the  day  will  appoint  an  officer  of  the  Guard  from  his 
Company,  who  will  inspect  the  Guard,  and  see  that  they  are  properly 
uniformed,  armed  and  equipped  before  going  on  duty.  The  officer  of 
the  day  will  make  his  details  and  report  a  list  of  them  to  these  Head- 
quarters before  six  P.M.  of  the  day  his  tour  of  duty  begins,  and  will  also 
make  a  full  report  in  writing  of  his  tour  of  duty  immediately  after  its 
conclusion. 

"  Third :  Commanders  of  Companies  will  each  detail  ten  men  and 
one  sergeant,  selecting  the  same  with  reference  to  the  vicinage  of  their 
lodging,  and  other  good  qualifications,  who  shall  constitute  the  reserve 
Guard,  and  be  required  to  take  their  arms  and  equipments  to  their  lodg- 
ings, together  with  twenty  rounds  of  ammunition  for  each  man. 

"  Fotirth :  In  case  of  necessity  for  calling  the  battalion  under  arms 
suddenly,  the  alarm  at  the  armory  will  be  sounded  for  such  by  a  guard 
on  duty.  The  bell  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  will  be  rung  by  turn- 
ing over  continuously,  and  the  steam  gongs  of  the  city  will  be  blown 
with  short  blasts,  continuously  repeated.  Private  Arthur  C.  Logan,  Com- 
pany A,  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  sounding  the  alarm  for  assembling 
with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  bell,  and  will  promptly  ring  the  same 
as  directed  in  these  orders,  on  hearing  the  alarm  sounded  at  the  armory, 
and  on  receiving  orders  from  the  commanding  officer  of  the  battalion, 
the  officer  of  the  day,  and  from  the  mayor  of  this  city.  When  either  of 
these  alarms  are  sounded,  the  reserve  guard  will  assemble  with  all  possi- 
ble promptness,  armed  and  equipped,  at  the  rendezvous  designated  by 
the  several  company  commanders,  and  then  march  in  double  time  to 
the  reserve  rendezvous,  at  the  corner  of  Washington  Ave.  and  Spruce 
St.,  where  they  will  report  to  the  officer  of  the  day,  or,  in  his  absence,  to 


188  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

the  ranking  officer  present.  All  other  members  of  the  battalion  will 
hasten  in  uniform  to  the  armory,  and  if  unable  to  gain  admittance  will 
fall  in  near  the  reserve  guard.  Field  and  staff  officers  and  musicians 
will  join  the  reserve  guard. 

"Fifth  :  The  Reserve  Guard  of  each  company,  unless  excused  by  the 
company  commander,  will  assemble  on  the  nights  for  company  drill  at 
its  rendezvous,  and  march  thence,  under  command  of  its  sergeant,  to  the 
armory,  in  time  to  fall  in  for  roll-call  for  drill.  Whenever  the  Reserve 
Guard  joins  its  company  under  arms,  the  commanding  officer  will  care- 
fully inspect  its  arms,  and  see  that  they  are  unloaded  before  allowing  the 
guard  to  fall  in  with  the  company. 

"  Sixth  :  Company  commanders  will  cause  a  roll  to  be  made  of  the 
members  of  their  companies,  who  have  serviceable  private  arms  and 
ammunition  at  their  lodgings,  and  who  are  not  detailed  on  the  Reserve 
Guard,  and  send  a  copy  of  the  same  to  these  headquarters  with  the  spe- 
cification of  the  kind  of  arms  possessed  by  each.  The  men  of  this  roll 
will  be  requested  to  turn  out,  upon  the  sounding  of  an  alarm,  with  their 
private  arms,  to  be  used  until  their  guns  are  obtained  from  the 
armory. 

" Seventh:  This  order  will  be  read  before  each  company  in 

THE  ARMORY,  AND  ITS  PROVISIONS  MUST  NOT  BE  MADE  KNOWN  OUTSIDE 
THE  MEMBERS  OF  THIS  COMMAND. 

"By  order  of  Major  H.  M.  Boies,  commanding. 
"F.  L.  Hitchcock,  Adjutant." 

This  general  order,  here  for  the  first  time  made  public,  will 
bring  back,  quite  vividly,  to  both  soldiers  and  citizens,  who 
were  in  the  city  of  Scranton  in  1877,  the  remembrance  of 
the  long  and  wearing  excitements,  apprehensions,  and  real 
dangers,  which  disturbed  the  community  through  the  sum- 
mer and  autumn.  The  strike  continued  throughout  the 
whole  valley.  Coal  could  not  be  had  to  keep  the  mills 
and  factories  in  operation,  even  where  the  workmen  were 
ready  to  operate  them.  The  troops  of  the  National  Guard 
were  camping  at  different  points  along  the  valley,  for  the 
protection  of  the  railways  and  the  breakers,  where  efforts 
were  constantly  made  to  intimidate  or  to  kill  engineers  and 
watchmen.     The  United  States  troops  were  encamped  upon 


WHO   COMES   THERE?  189 

the  hill,  within  the  city  limits,  east  of  Clay  Avenue,  and 
almost  nightly  there  were  disturbances,  which  kept  the  peo- 
ple in  a  condition  of  painful  uncertainty.  Sometimes  there 
were  shots  fired  ;  more  frequently  stones  were  cast  at  the  trains 
leaving  or  approaching  the  city  by  night.  There  were  often 
visible  companies  and  squads  of  men  drilling  in  the  out- 
skirts; and  it  was  impossible  to  know  how  much  of  this 
was  done  as  the  mere  entertainment  of  idle  men,  and  as  an  ef- 
fect of  the  marching  and  counter-marching  of  the  militia  in 
the  community,  and  how  much  of  it  was  prompted  by  in- 
definite intentions  of  intimidation  and  violence.  The  miners 
remained  sullen  and  silent,  and  only  spoke  to'  assert  the 
continuance  of  the  strike,  or  to  abuse  the  companies  and 
their  managers  for  the  condition  of  things  of  which  they 
complained.  The  companies  refused  to  make  any  advances, 
and  steadily  rejected  all  compromises.  The  low  prices  of 
iron  and  coal  gave  no  ground  for  the  hope  of  a  break  of 
the  deadlock,  in  the  great  industries  of  the  valley,  from  the 
side  of  the  operators,  or  men  of  means.  There  was  no  pos- 
sible hope  of  the  companies  granting  the  increase  demanded 
in  wages.  Indeed  it  was  more  than  doubtful  if  they  could 
pay  the  wages  given  when  the  strike  was  ordered  ;  while  the 
unallayed  passion  and  natural  stubbornness  of  workmen,  which 
were  fostered  by  politicians  and  demagogues  who  had  use  for 
the  honest,  and  too  often  oppressed,  workers  at  the  approach- 
ing election,  forestalled  any  effective  movement  looking  towards 
a  return  to  work  and  peace.  ' 

But  the  sufferings  of  the  workmen  became  intolerable  as 
time  passed,  and  drove  many  of  them  away  from  the  coal 
regions  in  search  for  work.  Many  more  were  compelled  to 
press  upon  their  associates  the  necessity  and  wisdom  of  re- 
turning to  work,  and  of  thus  awaiting  the  return  of  pros- 
perity for  the  adjustment  of  grievances.  It  was  perfectly 
evident  that  with  no  better  market  or  outlook  of  business 


190  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

than  then  existed,  the  corporations  would  not,  could  not,  treat 
with  the  workingmen  while  on  a  strike. 

The  strike  had  reached  a  crisis  about  the  loth  of  October ; 
and  as  a  consequence  the  passions  of  the  turbulent  were  at  a 
white  heat.  The  miners  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company, 
who  had  been  forced  to  join  the  strikers  by  the  burning  of  the 
"  Head  House  No.  5,"  on  the  gravity  road  in  July,  decided  to 
go  to  work  on  the  8th,  and  actually  had  begun  the  mining  of 
coal.  But  on  the  night  of  this  day  of  their  resumption  a  tressel- 
work  on  the  road  was  burned  by  incendiaries,  and  the  whole 
work  stopped  again.  Being  a  gravity  road  and  the  only  line 
of  transportation  for  their  coal,  any  breakage  of  the  line  neces- 
sarily interrupted  the  whole  industry. 

This  company,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  John  B. 
Smith,  had  seldom  been  troubled  with  strikes.  The  wise  and 
genial  spirit,  and  strict  honesty  of  the  manager,  Mr.  Smith, 
made  him  very  popular  with  the  employees,  as  well  as  se- 
cured the  excellence  of  the  men  employed  through  all 
the  years  of  his  faithful  service.  This  was  manifested  by 
their  confidence  in  those  who  were  in  charge  of  the  great  inter- 
est. But  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company  having  no  outlet 
to  the  market  except  by  their  gravity  track  over  the  moun- 
tains, was  at  the  mercy  of  the  lawless,  who  could  stop  their 
whole  industry  either  by  breaking  the  track  or  disabling  a 
stationary  engine.  And  it  was  impossible  to  efficiently  guard 
the  whole  track  from  Pittston  to  Hawley. 

At  this  time  almost  daily  outrages  were  reported  in  the  city; 
such  as  placing  obstructions  upon  the  railroads,  burning  build- 
ings, firing  upon  watchmen  and  pump  engineers  at  the  mines, 
and  the  robbing  of  farms  in  the  neighborhood.  These  disorders, 
daily  reported  in  the  papers,  or  by  the  soldiers  on  guard,  up  and 
down  the  valley,  with  the  drilling  of  companies  of  strikers,  al- 
ready mentioned,  gave  special  reason  for  the  order  organizing 
the  battalion  for  special  vigilance  and  guard  duty.     It  was 


WHO   COMES  THERE?  191 

feared  also  that  an  attempt  might  be  made  to  seize  the  guns 
which  were  in  possession  of  men  who  had  not  yet  become 
accustomed  to  the  duty  of  taking  care  of  them.  This  general 
condition  of  things  gave  to  the  Major  and  officers  of  the  Guard 
a  schooling  which  soon  manifested  its  benefits  in  bringing  the 
battalion  to  a  condition  of  efficiency  rarely  developed  in  so 
short  a  time. 

On  the  5th  of  October  the  whole  Guard  appeared  under  com- 
mand of  the  Major  for  the  first  time  in  public.  The  command- 
ing officer  and  all  his  staff  were  present.  A  band  had  been 
procured  from  Waverly,  and  the  four  companies  were  drilled 
in  battalion  movements.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  these  move- 
ments were  executed  without  confusion,  especially  when  the 
fact  is  noted  that  there  was  at  that  time  no  suitable  parade- 
ground  in  the  city.  The  public  square  was  a  swamp  which 
for  some  years  had  been  the  dumping-ground  of  the  city,  and 
finally  had  just  been  filled  with  the  cinders  and  ashes  from  the 
mills  and  furnaces.  It  would  have  been  difficult  to  find  a  more 
unsuitable  surface  for  the  movements  of  men  not  allowed  to 
look  at  the  place  of  their  feet.  The  drill  was  rather  a  facing 
of  the  public,  and  a  mustering  of  courage  on  the  part  of  officers 
and  men,  to  undertake  unaccustomed  duty.  But  both  move- 
ments and  marching  received  favorable  criticism  from  the 
public,  and  inspired  the  whole  Guard  with  confidence  and 
hope.  Both  officers  and  men  learned  to  know  their  places  in 
line  and  companies  their  relation  to  each  other.  The  City 
Guard  was  thus  "  set  up  "  in  the  face  of  the  public,  and  retired 
without  loss  of  self-respect.  But  Friday,  October  12th,  was 
the  day  when  the  first  satisfactory  appearance  and  drill  of  the 
battalion  occurred,  when  there  was  a  successful  exercise  in  all 
the  duties  of  the  Guard. 

The  special  necessity  at  this  time,  as  has  been  stated,  was  a 
suitable  parade  ground,  which,  in  a  city  of  such  unevenness  of 
surface,  was  not  easily  to  be  found.     Col.  U.  G.  Schoonmaker, 


192  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

at  that  time  the  proprietor  of  the  Forest  House,  generously  took 
this  matter  in  hand.  He  employed  at  his  own  expense  a  large 
number  of  men  to  level  the  cinders  and  gather  out  the  stones 
on  the  swamp;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  sufficiently  levelled,  he 
hauled  dirt  from  outside  the  city  and  spread  over  the  surface 
to  keep  the  ashes  from  rising  on  the  march.  Thus  a  beautiful 
parade  ground  was  prepared  where  the  movements  of  the  bat- 
talion could  be  witnessed  by  a  large  body  of  the  citizens. 
Guards  were  placed  around  the  square,  and  a  multitude,  on  foot 
and  in  carriages,  gathered  outside  the  guard  line  and  cheered, 
with  decided  enthusiasm,  the  drill  carried  on  within  the  lines. 
The  work  of  drilling  sentries  in  guard  duty  was  vigorously 
prosecuted  under  an  "officer  of  the  day,"  with  his  "sergeant" 
and  "corporal  of  the  guard."  The  success  achieved  in  this 
public  drill,  and  the  consequent  enthusiasm,  impressed  both 
citizens  and  soldiers  with  the  conviction  that  the  city  had  a 
Guard  whose  efficiency  could  be  relied  upon,  by  whose  moral 
power  alone  the  lawless  could  be  held  under  control,  and  by 
whose  readiness  for  effective  service  farther  bloodshed  would 
be  prevented.  It  was  indeed  felt  that  the  city  and  the  com- 
munity had  already  been  secured  in  great  measure  against 
whatever  of  lawlessness  might  yet  appear.  The  danger  of  the 
city  had  created  its  defense.  This  faith  was  very  soon  to  be 
tested.  The  real  value  of  the  Guard  was  to  have  its  demon- 
stration while  yet  the  excitements  of  the  successful  drill  were 
quickening  the  pulse-beats  of  officers  and  men,  as  well  as 
enlivening  the  conversation  of  the  homes  which  these  new  sol- 
diers proposed  to  guard. 

At  this  time  the  condition  of  the  strikers  would  seem  to 
have  driven  them  to  the  verge  of  desperation  and  despair. 
General  Manager  W.  W.  Scranton,  according  to  his  well-known 
views  of  management,  determined  to  try  the  effect  of  heroic 
treatment  upon  the  class  of  workmen  who  claimed  that  they 
had  no  special  interest  in  the  strike,  but  were  kept  from  re- 


WHO   COMES  THERE?  193 

suming  work  by  the  fear  of  those  who  were  determined  to 
maintain  it  to  the  end. 

On  the  nth  of  October  he  induced  a  kw  of  the  miners  to 
go  into  the  Pine  Brook  mine  and  resume  work  under  promise 
of  protection.  He  then  put  up  a  notice  to  the  effect  that  "Any 
Pine  Brook  miner  who  does  not  come  to  work  to-morrow 
(Friday  the  12th)  will  not  be  again  employed  by  this 
Company."  This  notice  seemed  to  arouse  a  great  deal  of  pas- 
sion. That  night  the  company's  mule  barn,  located  near  to 
the  mine,  about  the  centre  of  the  city,  was  burned.  Quite  a 
body  of  men,  however,  reported  for  work  on  Friday  morning, 
and  the  breaker  was  guarded  by  two  Companies  of  Col.  How- 
ard's State  Troops.  These  troops  succeeded  in  restraining  the 
gathered  crowd  from  perpetrating  outrages  upon  the  men  as 
they  came  out  of  the  mine  at  the  close  of  the  day. 

The  officers  of  the  City  Guard  were  assembled  at  the  office 
of  the  Major,  on  Wyoming  Avenue,  for  the  transaction  of  bat- 
talion business  in  the  evening,  after  their  successful  drill  of  the 
1 2th.  Just  as  they  were  dismissed,  at  10  o'clock  P.  M.,  Col. 
Morrow  came  in,  and  calling  the  Major  aside,  informed  him 
that  Mayor  McKune  had  information  that  a  mob  of  five  hun- 
dred men,  more  or  less,  was  approaching  the  city  from  down 
the  valley,  with  the  determination  to  "fix  the  blacklegs"  who 
had  gone  to  work  at  Pine  Brook,  and  to  burn  the  breaker. 
The  Colonel  also  announced  that  Col.  Howard's  troops, 
then  quartered  near  the  breaker,  were  all  under  arms,  and 
were  able  to  protect  both  the  workmen  and  the  breaker;  but 
there  was  nothing  to  prevent  the  mob  from  entering  '"he  city 
and  doing  what  they  pleased,  as  he  could  not  order  out  the 
United  States  troops  under  his  command  except  as  a  last  resort, 
when  all  efforts  by  the  State  to  preserve  the  peace  had  failed. 

It  was  feared  that  the  armory  of  the  Guard  might  be  sacked 
for  arms  for  this  crowd  on  mischief  bent.  After  a  short  con- 
sultation with  Col.  Morrow,  Major  Boies  directed  the  Captains 
13 


194  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

to  assemble  their  men  immediately  at  the  armory  and  wait  for 
orders.  While  this  order  was  being  executed,  he  visited  Col. 
Howard,  at  Pine  Brook,  with  Col.  Morrow,  where  a  plan  of 
action  was  concerted  under  Col.  Morrow's  suggestion.  The 
Major  returned  to  the  armory  at  1 1  o'clock,  to  find  the  Com- 
panies formed,  with  officers  and  men  ready  for  duty. 

There  were  present  as  follows,  to  wit :  of  the  Field  and 
Staff,  seven.  Company  A,  three  officers  and  23  men.  Com- 
pany B,  three  officers  and  38  men.  Company  C,  two  officers 
and  16  men.  Company  D,  three  officers  and  24  men.  Making 
a  total  of  14  officers  and  116  men. 

Captain  Merriam  was  immediately  appointed  officer  of  the 
day,  and  Lieutenants  Linen  and  Smith  officers  of  the  Guard, 
and  pickets  were  ordered  to  be  stationed  as  follows  : — 

A  corporal  and  four  men  near  the  steel  mill,  on  Washing- 
ton Avenue,  and  a  corporal  and  two  men,  each  at  the  following 
points;  at  the  junction  of  Monroe  Avenue  and  Ridge  Row; 
opposite  the  Company's  store  at  junction  of  Jefferson  and 
Lackawanna  Avenues  ;  at  the  crossing  of  Washington  and 
Lackawanna ;  in  front  of  the  armory  on  Lackawanna  and 
Penn  Avenues,  and  at  the  Lackawanna  Avenue  and  Rail- 
road Bridges  across  the  river. 

A  patrol,  constituted  of  a  sergeant  and  eight  men,  was  sent 
out  to  visit  these  posts  every  half  hour  throughout  the  night. 
They  were  visited  also  at  regular  intervals  by  staff  officers,  and 
regular  reliefs  were  supplied.  Shortly  after  the  pickets  were 
posted  a  man  escorting  what  was  supposed  by  the  sentinel  to  be 
a  woman,  was  permitted  to  pass  the  post  near  the  steel  works. 
It  was  afterwards  learned  that  this  was  a  man  in  woman's 
clothing,  and  that  these  two  had  taken  information  to  the  ap- 
proaching mob  of  the  preparation  made  for  their  reception. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  information  the  crowd  turned  back 
and  dispersed.  The  Companies  remained  under  arms  at  the 
armory  ready  for  instant  service  all  through  the  night,  and  the 


WHO   COMES   THERE?  195 

guards,  relieved  every  two  hours,  stood  to  their  duty  until 
the  morning  dawned. 

Everything  was  carried  out  with  military  precision,  with  the 
single  exception  that  Charles  H.  Lindsay,  4th  Corporal,  and 
Samuel  B.  Price,  a  private  of  Company  D,  and  a  respectable 
lawyer  of  the  city,  who  were  pickets  stationed  on  and  beyond 
the  railway  bridge,  were  forgotten  by  the  relief.  Private  Price 
proved  his  soldierly  qualities  by  remaining  faithfully  on  his 
beat  with  a  nodding  wakefulness  until  he  was  permitted  in  the 
early  morning  to  halt  a  squad  of  the  engineers  who  came  to 
fire  up  their  engines  in  the  morning  watch.  These  engineers 
being  let  go  gave  information  of  the  lost  pickets,  and  the  of- 
ficer of  the  Guard  relieved  them  at  daylight. 

No  one  who  was  acquainted  with  the  facts  known  to  the 
Mayor  and  the  military  officers,  then  in  command  of  the  city, 
has  ever  questioned  the  benefit  of  the  service  rendered  by  the 
sudden  assembling  of  the  City  Guard  that  night. 

The  information  received  by  the  Mayor  was  afterwards 
fully  confirmed,  and  there  is  no  doubt  there  would  have  been 
violence  in  the  city  on  the  night  of  October  1 2th  but  for  the 
prompt  and  efficient  action  of  Major  Boies  and  his  command. 
The  benefit  of  the  active  service  to  the  Guard  itself  was  marked 
and  immediate.  The  men  that  night  took  some  measurement 
of  the  work  they  had  undertaken  to  do,  as  well  as  of  the  dig- 
nity and  responsibility  of  their  position  as  the  guardsmen  of 
the  city  against  lawlessness  and  violence. 

The  next  morning  the  Mayor  addressed  the  following  note 
to  the  Commander  of  the  Guard,  viz. : — 

Mayor's  Office,  City  of  Scranton. 
Scranton,  Pa.,  Oct.  13th,  1877. 
Major  H.  M.  Boies, 

Commanding  S.  C.  Gttabd. 
Dear  Sir  : — From  information  received  at  my  office  I  apprehend  that 
my  police  force  is  not  sufficient  to  prevent  contemplated  disturbances  in 
this  city.    You  will  please  order  on  duty  at  your  armory  between  the 


196  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

hours  of  10  p.m.  and  4  A.M.,  forty  men  until  further  orders;  and  instruct 
their  officer  in  command  to  hold  himself  and  his  command  in  readiness 
to  respond  to  any  call  I,  or  my  chief  of  police,  may  make  upon  him  for 
assistance  in  preserving  the  peace  of  the  city. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Robert  H.  McKune,  Mayor. 

In  accordance  with  this  request  the  Major  ordered  each 
Company,  on  the  night  of  its  regular  drill,  to  furnish  the  re- 
serve called  for  with  their  commanding  officer,  to  wait  at  the 
armory  the  call  of  his  honor  the  Mayor.  In  addition  to  this 
precautionary  measure,  a  relief  guard  of  selected  men  were 
allowed  to  take  their  guns  to  their  homes  with  a  specified 
number  of  rounds  of  ammunition,  and  required  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  for  duty  at  a  given  signal. 

Thus  the  City  Guard  fully  organized,  armed  and  equip- 
ped, took  up  the  unaccustomed  burdens  of  the  soldier's 
duty,  and  started  upon  the  upward  march  of  its  career, 
with  a  steady  step,  inspired  with  the  consciousness  that 
there  was  use  for  the  organization,  and  that  their  services 
should  throw  new  and  permanent  entrenchments  about  the 
sanctities  of  law ;  and  secure  the  lasting  blessings  of  peace 
and  order  to  the  city. 


CIVIL  HISTORY.  197 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CIVIL  HISTORY. 

Struggles  for  a  Habitation— End  of  the  Strike — The  City's  Endorsement  of  its  Ex- 
ecutive and  its  Defenders — Law  an  open  bargain  which  must  be  Fulfilled. 

FROM  the  day  when  an  effort  was  'begun  to  enlist  the 
Citizens'  Corps  to  aid  the  public  authorities  in  the 
maintenance  of  order,  the  prime  difficulty  was  found  to  be  the 
want  of  a  suitable  hall  or  building  where  such  an  organization 
could  have  a  home,  and  be  put  into  a  training  that  might  give 
hope  of  efficiency  to  itself,  and  safety  to  the  trust  committed 
to  it. 

Before  the  day  of  the  riot,  the  Citizens'  Corps,  organized 
according  to  the  published  call  of  the  Governor  as  repeated  by 
the  Mayor,  could  find  no  place  which  could  be  used  even  as 
headquarters,  except  the  upper  floor  of  the  Company's  store, 
generously  tendered  by  Mr.  Scranton.  This  room  was  entirely 
too  limited  for  drill  or  Company  movements,  and  grievous  in- 
terference with  the  business  of  the  owners  could  not  be  avoided. 
The  ample  house  of  merchandise  was  of  little  use,  either  to  the 
owners  or  their  customers,  while  its  upper  floors  were  filled 
with  armed  men  who  were  preparing  for  the  public  defense. 

As  soon  as  the  movement  to  organize  the  City  Guard  be- 
gan, a  committee  on  an  armory  was  appointed  which  consisted 
of  Messrs.  S.  C.  Logan  and  H.  M.  Boies.  This  committee,  as 
long  as  the  excitement  and  reaction  connected  with  the  dis- 
persion of  the  mob  continued,  were  not  able  to  find  any  prop- 
erty, at  all  suitable,  whose  owner  was  willing  to  have  it  used  for 


198  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

such  purpose.  The  danger  from  the  angry  strikers  was  sup- 
posed to  be  so  great  that  insurance  companies,  it  was  said, 
would  cancel  their  policies  on  any  hall  which  should  be  let  for 
the  use  of  the  Guard. 

When  at  length  the  tide  of  public  opinion  set  positively  to- 
ward the  organization,  the  whole  matter  became  even  more 
complicated  by  the  number  of  companies  which  had  been  en- 
listed. There  were  a  few  halls  which  might  have  been  fitted 
up  to  accommodate  a  single  company,  in  which  the  men  could 
be  drilled  in  the  use  of  arms.  But  the  battalion  of  four  com- 
panies was  compelled  to  exercise  itself  in  the  open  air,  or  go 
without  battalion  drill. 

The  fourth  floor  of  the  Second  National  Bank  was  secured 
at  a  heavy  rent  as  soon  as  the  Guard  was  organized,  but  it 
could  be  used  for  drill  purposes  by  only  one  company  at  a 
time,  and  could  never  be  more  than  a  rendezvous,  where  the 
property  of  the  Guard  might  be  stored. 

Hence  the  question  of  building  an  armory  began  to  be 
considered  by  the  committee  as  soon  as  the  four  compa- 
nies were  mustered  into  service.  The  day  after  Major  Boies 
had  announced  his  acceptance  of  the  command,  he  called  the 
Chaplain  in  consultation  on  that  subject.  The  committee  on 
finance  had  pushed  the  subscription  for  an  equipment  of  the 
Guard  with  energy  and  perseverance.  Messrs.  Logan  and  E. 
N.  Willard  had  visited  New  York  and  brought  the  subject  by 
earnest  appeal  to  all  the  great  companies  whose  interests  cen- 
tred in  Scranton,  and  had  succeeded  in  securing  very  generous 
appropriations  from  them  all,  as  well  as  from  individuals,  who 
were  operating  in  coal  and  manufactories  in  the  valleys. 

Thus  it  resulted  that  the  amount  secured  was  already 
more  than  was  needed  for  the  complete  equipment  of  the 
Guard  with  uniforms.  By  adding  to  this  amount  the  State 
appropriation  to  the  companies  for  the  year,  and  by  trusting 
the  State  to  furnish,  by  future  appropriations,  all  the  equip- 


CIVIL   HISTORY.  199 

ments  needed,  except  uniforms,  it  was  found  that  enough 
could  be  realized  from  the  funds  already  within  reach,  to  pur- 
chase two  lots  on  which  to  build  an  armory. 

Major  Boies  was  convinced  that  an  armory,  owned  by  the 
Guard,  was  absolutely  necessary ;  and  true  wisdom  de- 
manded that  a  beginning  to  build  should  be  made  at  once. 
The  inconvenience  of  attempting  to  drill  the  battalion  without 
a  room  large  enough  to  allow  even  company  movements,  as 
well  as  the  danger,  perfectly  apparent,  as  contingent  upon  hav- 
ing the  companies  separated,  with  company  headquarters  placed 
in  different  parts  of  the  city,  gave  emphasis  to  his  convic- 
tion. 

It  would  indeed  have  been  a  dangerous  experiment  to  sep- 
arate the  companies  and  place  them  in  different  parts  of  the 
city,  where  their  arms  and  property  could  be  neither  cared  for 
nor  protected  against  the  lawless.  A  single  compact  com- 
pany, full  in  hand  of  its  commander,  would  be  more  efficient 
and  safe. 

There  were,  at  this  time,  almost  daily  outrages  committed 
by  the  strikers  and  their  associates ;  such  as  placing  obstruc- 
tions upon  railway  tracks,  burning  unguarded  buildings,  firing 
upon  pumpmen  and  watchmen  about  the  coal-breakers,  and 
robbing  the  farms  about  the  city.  These  outrages  were  never 
supposed  to  be  the  work  of  the  respectable  workmen  who  had 
made  themselves  responsible  for  the  strike,  but  of  lawless,  and 
worthless  people  who  followed  the  strike.  These  acts  of  vio- 
lence, reported  in  the  daily  papers,  kept  the  community  in  a 
fever  of  fear  and  apprehension.  While  the  constant  drilling  of 
companies  of  men  in  the  fields,  up  and  down  the  valley,  made 
it  evident  that  any  relaxing  of  energy,  or  lack  of  vigilance,  on 
the  part  of  either  officers  or  men,  would  probably  cost  the 
companies  of  the  City  Guard  their  arms. 

Under  this  condition  of  things  the  Major  promptly  con- 
cluded that  the  venture  must  be  made,  whatever  might  be  the 


200  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

result.  He  brought  the  matter  of  building  an  armory  before 
the  Board  of  Officers,  and  pressed  it  upon  their  consideration 
and  action.  All  saw  the  necessity  of  ultimately  having  an 
armory;  but  the  majority  of  the  officers  were  cautious  and 
conservative  in  business  enterprises.  They  could  see  but  little 
prospect  for  a  successful  move  towards  building  an  armory, 
until  the  Guard  should  have  entrenchsd  itself  more  perfectly  in 
the  confidence  and  affections  of  the  citizens.  We  might  hope 
that  the  whole  community  would  rally  to  the  work  and  needful 
sacrifice,  when  the  use  and  excellence  of  the  Guard  had  been 
demonstrated.  But  until  it  had  entrenched  itself  in  the  confi- 
dence and  affections  of  the  people,  the  attempt  to  build — must 
be  a  disastrous  failure. 

But  the  Major  was  persistent  in  his  judgment  that  the  build- 
ing should  be  at  once  undertaken,  and  that  the  whole  City 
Guard,  and  their  friends  should  be  committed  and  pressed  into 
the  work  of  raising  the  funds  necessary  to  pay  for  it.  In  this 
judgment  and  conclusion  he  was  warmly  seconded  by  the 
Chaplain  and  by  a  number  of  the  officers  and  men  whom  he 
consulted  privately.  He  had  also  an  efficient  helper  to  his 
positive  convictions  in  Colonel  H.  A.  Morrow,  then  in  com- 
mand of  the  United  States  Troops,  who  manifested  a  wise  and 
constant  interest  in  all  that  concerned  both  the  city  and  its 
defenses. 

Having  the  assurance  of  the  Chaplain  that  he  should  not 
stand  alone,  the  Major  determined  to  act  promply.  Two  lots 
on  Adams  Avenue,  a  short  distance  from  the  public  square, 
north  of  Linden  Street,  were  purchased  for  the  Guard  ;  himself 
becoming  responsible  for  the  payments  on  the  same,  when 
these  should  become  due.  The  price  contracted  for  these  lots 
was  four  thousand  dollars.  The  Major  then  secured  plans  and 
specifications  from  architect  Captain  Frederick  J.  Amsden ;  a 
veteran  of  the  Union  army  and  a  native  of  the  city,  who  had 
closed  his  four  years' service  at  Appomatox,  as  an  officer  on  Gen. 


CIVIL  HISTORY.  201 

Gibbon's  staff,  for  an  armory  to  be  built  upon  these  lots  ;  at 
an  estimated  cost  of  six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  dollars;  with  the  addition  of  eighteen  cents  a  square  yard 
for  excavation,  and  two  dollars  and  ten  cents  a  perch  for  all 
stone  work,  on  walls  of  the  cellar  and  foundation. 

The  contract  for  the  building  of  this  armory  was  let  to  the 
lowest  bidder,  Mr.  J.  E.  Chandler,  on  the  5th  day  of  October, 
1877,  who  obligated  himself  to  complete  the  same  and  deliver 
it  to  the  battalion  on,  or  before,  the  1st  day  of  the  following 
December.  Major  Boies  became  himself  responsible  to  the 
builder  for  the  whole  amount  of  the  contract,  and  subsequently 
fulfilled  the  consequent  obligations  with  that  unflinching, 
Christian  integrity  which  has  ever  marked  his  business  and 
benevolent  character.  His  courage  and  generosity  were  mani- 
fested in  the  fact,  that  this  obligation  for  an  outlay  of  more 
than  eight  thousand  dollars  was  taken,  when  he  had  nothing 
to  depend  upon,  except  the  possible  appropriation  from  the 
State  of  eight  hundred  dollars  a  year,  subject  to  a  vote  of  the 
Companies,  and  such  subscriptions  as  the  Guard  and  their 
friends  might  make. 

It  was  at  once  determined  to  risk  waiting  upon  the  State  for 
the  appropriation  necessary  for  overcoats,  blankets  and  haver- 
sacks ;  and,  if  called  out  before  these  were  provided,  to  go  with- 
out them;  and  thus  the  whole  balance  of  the  subscription, 
above  that  which  was  necessary  to  pay  for  the  uniforms  al- 
ready secured,  was  taken  to  pay  for  the  lots. 

On  the  13th  of  November,  1877, tne  Major  secured  the  deeds 
for  the  two  lots,  which  was  made  to  himself  in  trust;  and,  on 
the  23d  of  January,  1878,  these  lots  were  deeded  to  the  Scran- 
ton  City  Guard  Association.  The  whole  amount  of  four  thou- 
sand dollars — the  price  of  these  lots — was  paid  on  the  27th  of 
November,  1877.  Thus  the  friends  of  the  guard  were  com- 
mitted to  the  enterprise  of  building  aa  armory. 

The  first  steps  were  immediately  taken  to  secure  to  the 


202  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

armory  fund  all  sums  of  money  which  might  be  realized  from 
the  State  under  the  law.  By  suggestion  of  the  Board  of  Of- 
ficers, the  Company  officers  secured  from  all  enlisted  men  a 
written  relinquishment  of  all  their  pay  for  service,  which 
might  be  received  from  the  State  for  five  years.  The  Com- 
panies submitted  by  special  vote,  under  the  proposition  of  the 
Chaplain,  to  a  monthly  assessment ;  ranging  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  dollars,  to  meet  the  running  expenses  of  the  Guard. 
The  Headquarters  agreed  to  an  equal  monthly  assessment  with 
the  Companies.  Thus  through  the  first,  and  second  years  the 
City  Guard  was  run  at  the  expense  of  the  officers  and  men,  with 
such  help  as  they  could  obtain  from  honorary  members  and 
friendly  citizens.  Too  much  honor  cannot  be  accorded  to 
the  young  men  for  the  patience,  generosity  and  self-sacrifice, 
with  which  this  burden  was  carried. 

The  Companies,  by  vote,  then  appropriated  to  the  armory 
fund  the  entire  annual  due  from  the  State  for  "  armory  rent." 
Company  entertainments  were  given  by  all  the  Companies 
from  time  to  time,  aided  by  the  lady  friends  of  each  Company 
to  keep  up  their  treasuries,  and  thus  the  work  of  maintain- 
ing the  Guard  was  sustained. 

The  contractor  began  work  as  soon  as  the  contract  had 
been  signed,  and  pushed  forward  the  building  with  commend- 
able energy,  under  the  superintendence  of  Architect  Amsden, 
who  had  been  employed  for  that  purpose. 

The  battalion  was  kept  steadily  at  the  duties  of  drill  and 
of  guarding  the  city.  The  strike  continued  to  burden  busi- 
ness, and  invite  the  lawless  to  deeds  of  violence,  and  pillage. 
The  moral  effect,  however,  of  such  tangible  evidence  that  the 
City  Guard  had  come  to  stay  ;  and  that  the  citizens  had  deter- 
mined to  suffer  no  further  violent  invasions  of  the  peace  of  the 
city,  either  from  workmen,  who  should  undertake  to  right 
their  own  wrongs  in  an  unlawful  way,  or  from  thieves  and 
assassins  bent  upon  plunder,  became  marked  in  a  little  time. 


CIVIL   HISTORY.  203 

Within  a  few  days  after  the  work  was  begun  on  the  armory- 
palpable  evidences  of  the  weakening  of  the  strike  began  to 
appear.  The  sense  of  security  among  the  people  grew  defi- 
nite and  strong ;  especially  after  the  night  watch  of  October 
1 2th.  Within  three  days  after  this  appearance  of  the  bat- 
talion, armed  and  equipped  for  duty,  rumors  of  the  end  of 
the  miner's  strike  began  to  be  heard  about  the  city.  The 
causal  connection  between  these  twp  facts  may  not  be  suf- 
ficiently traceable  to  establish  a  conclusion,  but  the  coin- 
cidence was  certainly  remarkable. 

On  the  6th  of  October  a  mass  meeting  of  miners  was 
held  at  the  Round  Woods,  to  which  about  one  hundred  men 
from  Pine  Brook  marched  with  a  band  of  music,  carrying 
rude  banners,  on  which  were  inscribed  in  bold  characters  the 
various  mottoes  which  assured  the  world  that  the  strike  was 
"  solid  for  six  months  "  or  "  a  year  "  longer,  and  that  among 
miners  and  other  corporation  martyrs  there  was  to  be  "  no  giv- 
ing out,"  "  no  going  in." 

At  this  meeting  a  vote  was  taken  by  collieries,  after  some 
hours  of  furious  debate,  which  was  announced  by  their  com- 
mittees as  1262  for  continuing  the  strike,  to  144  for  abandon- 
ing it. 

On  the  same  day  the  employes  of  the  Pennsylvania  Com- 
pany met  the  President,  Mr.  Hoyt,  and  the  General  Manager, 
Mr.  John  B.  Smith  ;  and  after  tendering  an  apology  for  their 
hasty  action  when  carried  away  with  the  strike  fever,  that  had 
swept  over  the  community,  they  expressed  their  readiness  to 
return  to  work  ;  trusting  the  Company  for  the  justice  of  the 
terms,  which  might  be  demanded,  as  well  as  for  protection 
from  the  lawless. 

Six  days  after  the  overwhelming  vote  of  the  miners  of  the 
Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  WTestern,  and  Delaware  and  Hud- 
son Companies,  there  followed  the  secret  gathering  and  move- 
ment of  strikers  against  the  Pine  Brook  breaker,  already  re- 


204  A  CITY'S  DANGER  AND  DEFENSE. 

corded,  when  the  efficient  wall  of  bayonets  which  were  pre- 
sented by  the  City  Guard,  placed  a  period  to  the  bloody  in- 
tention of  their  night  march,  which  they  were  able  to  discern 
by  starlight. 

It  was  but  four  days  after  the  night  watch  of  the  battalion, 
and  only  ten  days  after  their  determination  neither  "  to  give 
out"  or  "  go  in,"  that  these  same  miners  met  again  atthe  "  Round 
Woods,"  and  by  a  unanimous  vote,  announced  with  enthusi- 
astic shouts,  the  determination  to  end  the  strike  at  once.  This 
was  done  on  October  16th,  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
miners  of  the  D.  L.  &  W.  R.  R.  appointed  a  committee  with 
powers,  which  waited  upon  Manager  W.  R.  Storrs  within  an 
hour  after  their  appointment.  After  about  an  hour's  confer- 
ence and  general  conversation,  in  which  the  Company  yielded 
nothing,  the  whole  issue  was  settled  by  the  simplest  pro- 
cess. The  committee  said  to  the  Superintendent,  "  May  we 
work  as  soon  as  the  mines  are  put  in  order  for  it?"  The 
Superintendent  answered,  "  You  may."  And  the  committee 
responded  "  all  right,"  and  was  at  once  furnished  with  the  fol- 
lowing notice  to  be  posted  by  them  at  the  collieries  of  the 
Company : — ■ 

"  Office  of  the  Western  Coal  Department  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad  Company. 

"  Scranton,  Pa.  ,  October  16th,  1877. 
"  The  miners  having  notified  us  that  they  are  ready  to  work,  resump- 
tion will  take  place  to-morrow,  the  17th  inst.,  to  such  an  extent  as  the 
mines  can  be  got  in  readiness.  "  W.  R.  Storrs, 

"General  Coal  Agent." 

The  committee  retired  with  a  copy  of  this  notice,  and  in  less 
than  fifteen  minutes  they  had  it  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place 
in  the  Hyde  Park  post-office.  A  shout  went  up  from  the 
wearied  workmen,  and  in  a  few  -minutes  the  streets  were  filled 
with  men,  women  and  children,  running  with  the  news  from 
house  to  house  and  crying  "  The  strike  is  ended  !  " 

On  the  same  day  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  miners  voted  at 


CIVIL   HISTORY.  205 

their  collieries  with  much  the  same  results  all  the  way  up  the 
valley. 

Their  Committee  waited  upon  A.  H.  Vandling,  General 
Coal  Agent  for  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Company,  and  after  a 
few  minutes  conversation  stated  that  the  miners  were  all  ready 
to  resume  work  without  conditions.  Their  proposition  was 
promptly,  and  kindly  accepted,  and  before  the  close  of  the 
day  Mr.  Vandling  telegraphed  the  message  all  along  the  line : 

"  All  our  mines  will  resume  work  as  soon  as  possible.  The  general 
committee  have  been  at  the  office  and  say  that  all  are  ready. 

"  A.  H.  Vandling, 

"Coal  Agent." 

This  news  of  resumption  swept  all  around  the  Valley  the 
same  afternoon,  and  struck  the  wearied  people  of  all  classes 
and  industries,  as  the  glory  of  a  clear  sunset  after  months 
of  leaden  skies. 

So  suddenly  ended  the  bloody  strike  of  1 877,  after  two  months 
of  lawless  strife  and  bickering, — an  end  as  gladly  welcomed 
by  the  workmen  themselves  as  by  their  employers.  Without 
further  notice,  that  whole  army  of  demagogues  and  "  labor 
reformers,"  who  had  so  long  managed  to  live  off  the  honest 
laborers,  without  work;  and  with  them  that  other  multitude  of 
tramps,  without  name  or  habitation,  were  left  without  a  con- 
stituency, and  were  permitted  to  manage  themselves,  and  their 
strange  resources  of  depravity,  according  to  their  own  liking. 

The  community  at  once  began  to  adjust  itself  to  the  reign  of 
law.  The  regiments  of  the  National  Guard,  on  duty  so  long 
guarding  breakers  and  the  homes  of  the  people,  began  imme- 
diately to  gather  up  their  equipments  and  stores,  strike  their 
tents,  and  prepare  for  the  march  to  their  homes,  after  a  most 
faithful  and  trying  service,  in  which  they  found  no  military 
glory.  The  United  States  forces,  under  Colonel  Morrow, 
waited  a  little  longer ;  but  the  Scranton  City  Guard  was  at  once 
recognized  on  all  sides  as  the  only  military  force  needed  to 
secure  the  profoundest  peace  and  safety  to  the  city. 


206  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

How  far  the  complete  organization  of  the  Guard,  and  the 
rapid  growth  of'  the  armory,  as  the  assurance  of  its  perma- 
nency, contributed  toward  hastening  the  end  of  the  strike  and 
its  lawless  accompaniments,  it  may  be  difficult  to  decide. 
There  was,  as  has  been  stated,  a  very  striking  coincidence  of 
events,  to  say  the  least,  in  the  demonstration  of  life  in  the 
battalion  and  the  better  councils  of  the  strikers. 

The  leaders  of  the  "  Molly  Maguires  "  and  of  the  men  who  fill- 
ed the  community  with  threats  against  the  members  of  the 
firing  squad,  and  leaders  of  the  military, organization,  through 
detectives,  became  known  to  the  commander  of  the  Guard;  and 
these  men  received  prompt  notice  from  the  Major  that  if  any 
violence  should  be  attempted  upon  any  of  the  young  men  en- 
gaged in  protecting  the  city,  these  leaders  should  be  held 
strictly  accountable,  and  should  certainly  find  themselves  ele- 
vated in  society  without  visible  footing,  wherever  they  might 
be  found.  This  notification  was  immediately  followed  by  most 
salutary  results.  Quiet,  serious  observation  followed  the 
bluster  and  threats  of  violence  which  were  abundant  before 
the  notice  was  given. 

On  the  30th  of  October  the  Thirteenth  Infantry,  by  order  of 
General  Hancock,  broke  camp  and  left  for  duty  in  the  South. 
This  was  the  last  fragment  of  the  National  troops  which  had, 
by  their  presence,  done  so  much  towards  restraining  violence. 
By  the  soldierly  bearing  and  the  gentlemanly  deportment,  both 
of  the  men  and  their  officers,  they  had  endeared  themselves  to 
all  our  best  people. 

These  officers  had  been  specially  kind  to  the  City  Guard, 
and  rendered  efficient  aid  in  their  organization  and  drill.  They 
bore  away  with  them,  by  the  hands  of  their  commander,  testi- 
monials spontaneously  given  by  the  Mayor  and  signed  by  a 
hundred  leading  men  of  the  city,  with  special  thanks  and  con- 
gratulations from  the  "  City  Guard,"  signed  by  all  the  officers. 
These  National  troops   occupied  a  very  peculiar,  not  to  say 


CIVIL   HISTORY.  207 

anomalous,  position  during  the  whole  time  of  their  encamp- 
ment— one  which  placed  their  commander  in  a  delicate  po- 
sition, in  which  he  had  to  take  the  whole  responsibility  of  either 
action  or  inactivity.  There  seemed  to  be  a  strange  reluctance 
in  high  places  to  take  any  responsibility  or  to  commit  the  pub- 
lic authorities  to  any  decided  action  in  the  time  of  riot  and 
danger.  Col.  Morrow  was  ordered  to  Scranton  in  July,  and 
when  he  arrived  with  his  command  in  August,  found  the  whole 
population  alarmed  and  uneasy,  business  entirely  suspended, 
and  quiet  maintained  only  by  military  watchfulness.  He  had 
received  no  specific  orders.  Ostensibly,  he  had  been  ordered 
here  to  guard  a  certain  Railroad  which  was  in  the  hands  of  a 
receiver,  who  had  been  appointed  by  a  United  States  Court. 
But  for  four  months  these  troops  camped  in  the  city,  in  fact, 
to  protect  the  city  in  its  life  and  property;  and  in  all  that  time 
no  order  or  instructions  came  to  the  command  from  any 
quarter.  It  was  only  by  concealing  this  fact  that  Col.  Morrow 
could  be  of  any  use  in  quelling  the  tumults  of  the  time,  or  could 
give  any  confidence  in  the  efficiency  of  his  troops.  The  excel- 
lent judgment  of  the  Colonel  enabled  him  to  acquit  himself  no- 
bly in  the  exigency,  and  to  bear  away  with  him  the  high  res- 
pect of  the  whole  city.  The  same  thing  in  general  is  to  be 
said  of  the  military  administration  of  Gen.  H.  S.  Huidekoper. 
He  called  for  orders  and  instructions  in  vain. 

The  Regulars  were  escorted  to  the  cars  by  the  battalion  un- 
der command  of  Captain  Merriam,  who  happened  to  be  the 
senior  officer  in  the  city  upon  the  day  of  their  departure.  The 
effect  of  this  camp  of  the  Regulars  upon  the  character  to  be 
taken  by  the  City  Guard  was  very  decided.  It  tended  directly 
to  produce  a  much  higher  standard  of  drill,  and  a  more  easy 
and  accurate  battalion  movement,  than  is  usually  found  in  the 
ordinary  National  Guard.  It  is  doubtful  if  ever  the  Guard 
lost  the  impress  which  was  placed  upon  it  by  the  camp  life  of 
these  excellent  representatives  of  the  National  army. 


208  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Upon  the  departure  of  the  United  States  troops,  after  the 
general   resumption   of  industries,  the   city  of  Scranton  very 
readily  fell  into  the  orderly  life  which  had  formerly  character- 
ized it.     The  return  to  work,  was,  in  a  measure,  the  resto- 
ration of  confidence  to  the  great  body  of  the  people.     But  the 
elements  of  danger  were  yet  too  manifest,  and  the  remembrance 
of  the  scenes  of  violence,  scarcely  passed,  was  too  vivid  to  allow 
the  intelligent  and  patriotic  citizens  to  forget  the  experiences 
of  the  past  summer,  when  the  very  foundations  of  society  were 
shaken.     The  use  which  had  been  made  of  the  passions  of  the 
hour,  by  demagogues  and  political  leaders,  destitute  of  both 
conscience  and  patriotism,  had  brought  a  lesson  to  the  honest 
and  intelligent  people  which  they  could  not  soon  forget.     By 
magnifying  the  unhappy  differences  at  issue  between  the  cor- 
porations and  their  employes  ;  by  keeping  active  the  prejudices 
which  ignorance,  or  depravity,  or  narrowness  of  mind  alone  can 
originate,  and  by  brazen  pretense  of  sympathy  with  the  laborer 
and  his  cause  ;  these  leaders  had  succeeded  in  placing  in  some 
of  the  most  important  offices  men  who  were  not  only  unfit  for 
any  public  trust  whatever,  but  who  had  been    known  to  be 
identified  with  the  worst  elements  of  the  striking  population. 
This  pushing  the  election  to  office  along  the  lines  of  lawless- 
ness and  dishonor,  and  making 'the  holding  of  public  trusts  the 
reward  of  bold  opposition  to  just  enterprise  necessarily  in  the 
hands  of  legal  corporations,  not  only  revealed  the  dangers  to 
which  our  public  institutions  are  exposed  in  the  mining  and 
manufacturing  districts  ;  but  had  emphasized  the  real  value  of 
the  services  which  had  been  rendered  by  the  public  officers, 
who  had  proved  faithful  and  unflinching  in  the  time  of  trial. 

The  most  alarming  feature  of  the  times,  the  most  startling 
fact  which  the  unprecedented  strike  had  revealed  throughout 
the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  manifest  unfitness 
and  unfaithfulness  of  the  civil  functionaries  who  were  found 
holding  public  trusts,  in  municipal  governments.     The  excel- 


CIVIL   HISTORY.  209 

lent  and  heroic  Governor,  when  he  found  lawlessness  run  riot, 
could  count  upon  the  fingers  of  one  of  his  hands,  the  whole 
number  of  executive  officers  in  the  cities  and  counties  where 
violence  prevailed,  upon  whom  he  could  depend  in  the  measures 
necessary  to  quell  riots,  and  maintain  the  dignity  of  the  law. 
In  many  places  these  officers  of  the  peace  openly  neglected 
their  trusts.  In  other  places  their  want  of  courage  and  ability 
drove  them  to  shirk  their  duty  on  the  flimsiest  pretexts;  and 
in  some  cases  these  officers  not  only  affiliated  with  the  strikers, 
but  attempted  to  use  the  force  of  official  position  and  power 
for  the  protection  of  law-breakers. 

This  state  of  municipal  authority,  through  the  Common- 
wealth of  Pennsylvania,  which  the  attempt  to  restore  order  and 
the  authority  of  law  revealed,  had  been  in  great  measure  the 
result  of  carelessness,  or  of  the  wilful  neglect,  of  the  citizens  to 
fulfill  their  public  duty.  The  possibility  of  such  an  exigency 
arising  that  should  demand  public  officers  of  the  most  manly 
type  and  truest  patriotism,  had  not  occurred  to  the  people. 
But  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  the  results  of  the  election,  after 
the  strike  had  been  brought  under  control,  showed  a  far  more 
dangerous  condition  in  this  respect  than  a  mere  neglect  had 
ever  induced.  It  was  evident  that  the  passions  and  prejudices 
which  the  strike,  and  the  mob,  had  aroused  had  been  boldly 
carried  into  the  political  canvas.  Political  demagogues,  it 
would  seem,  had  not  hesitated  to  attempt  to  legalize  lawless- 
ness, and  in  some  instances  men  were  elected  to  office  who,  in 
the  judgment  of  patriotic  virtue  would  have  rendered  more 
just  and  valuable  service  to  the  State  in  its  penitentiaries. 

It  was  not  unnatural,  then,  that  in  such  a  state  of  public  trusts 
the  people  of  Scranton  should  have  turned  their  thoughts  to- 
ward their  faithful  officers  as  soon  as  quiet  had  been  restored 
and  work  resumed.  The  city  had  indeed  been  surprised,  when 
the  exigency  arose,  to  find  a  Mayor  in  office  endowed  with 
true  courage  and  official  fidelity.  The  people  were  not  slow 
14 


210  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

to  recognize  these  virtues  when  the  time  came  to  test  them ; 
and  now  that  the  ordeal  had  been  safely  passed  and  the  city- 
restored  to  its  order  under  civil  administration,  it  seemed  both 
just  and  manly  for  the  citizens  to  give  some  worthy  recognition 
of  the  faithful  services  rendered  by  his  Honor  Mayor  McKune 
through  his  trying  term  of  service. 

The  justice  and  propriety  of  giving  some  public  recognition 
of  the  Mayor's  fidelity  during  the  time  of  the  strike  was  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  Joseph  J.  Albright  to  a  number  of  the  citizens; 
and  under  their  encouragement  he  called  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens  generally,  to  give  expression  to  their  appreciation  of 
the  Mayor's  services.  This  meeting  was  attended  by  a  large 
body  of  the  best  men  of  the  city.  It  was  organized  by  the 
appointment  of  S.  C.  Logan  chairman,  and  Henry  Belin,  Jr., 
secretary.  After  a  free  and  full  exchange  of  views,  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  the  officers  of  the  meeting,  with  Messrs. 
Joseph  J.  Albright,  U.  G.  Schoonmaker  and  Alfred  Hand, 
was  appointed  to  prepare  an  address  expressing  the  thanks  of 
the  law-abiding  citizens  to  the  Mayor,  with  a  statement  of 
their  high  appreciation  of  his  official  fidelity  and  services  du- 
ring the  strike,  and  the  riot  which  followed  it. 

This  committee  prepared  an  address,  which  was  unani- 
mously adopted  as  presented  by  the  chairman,  and  the  same 
committee  was  authorized  to  have  it  engrossed ;  and  when 
signed  by  such  citizens  as  might  agree  with  its  statements,  to 
present  it  to  the  Mayor. 

Mr.  Albright  had  this  testimonial  engrossed  at  his  own 
expense  in  a  book  made  for  the  purpose.  This  work  was 
done  by  an  expert  penman,  Mr.  Frederick  Ward,  a  native  of 
Honesdale.  The  address  was  engrossed  in  a  beautifully  illu- 
minated German  text,  after  which  it  was  submitted  for  signa- 
tures without  solicitation.     It  was  as  follows : 


n 


<^//^%ifeano 


r 


CIVIL  HISTORY.  211 

TESTIMONIAL   ADDRESS 

TO   THE 

HONORABLE   ROBERT   H.  McKUNE, 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  Scranton,  Pa., 

A.  D.  1877. 

Sir  :  The  incidents  and  condition  of  affairs  in  the  community  during 
the  last  three  months  have  directed  the  attention  of  our  law-abiding  and 
order-loving  citizens  to  you,  and  to  your  administration,  as  chief  execu- 
tive of  the  City  of  Scranton.  In  the  ordinary  conduct  of  public  affairs, 
it  is  too  often  true  that  the  great  body  of  the  people  are  entirely  indiffer- 
ent. They  suffer  their  public  servants  to  bear  the  common  burdens 
without  thought  or  care,  either  for  their  perplexities  or  for  their  success 
or  failure.  Too  busy  to  interfere,  or  persuaded  that  they  have  acquitted 
their  conscience  of  all  public  burdens  when  they  have  entered  a  general 
protest  against  the  party  in  power,  the  great  body  of  our  citizens  are 
generally  disposed  to  allow  all  public  officers  to  conduct  the  affairs  of 
office  with  no  further  inquiry  than  may  be  necessary  to  afford  intelli- 
gent grounds  for  fault-finding,  or  sufficient  knowledge  for  the  invention 
of  hindrances,  when  they  suppose  the  public  interest  demands  it.  As 
long  as  the  government,  State  or  municipal,  runs  in  its  accustomed 
grooves,  the  average  citizen  is  disposed  to  pay  his  taxes,  as  a  necessary 
evil,  and  go  on  the  way  of  his  private  affairs,  practically  considering  all 
offices,  with  their  responsibilities,  as  belonging  to  the  incumbent. 

But  when  the  peace  of  the  State  becomes  involved ;  when  the  hand 
of  violence  threatens  the  best  interests,  civil  and  material,  of  the  com- 
munity, the  people  become  aroused  to  a  just  appreciation  of  govern- 
ment and  realize  the  importance  of  office  and  the  true  value  of  a 
virtuous  officer.  Then  the  character  and  administration  of  every  officer 
becomes  the  matter  of  public  consideration  and  personal  interest.  Then 
the  good  citizen  turns  to  those  in  power,  to  weigh  personal  character 
and  official  integrity  with  an  earnestness  which  the  jeopardy  of  the 
most  sacred  interests  arouses. 

Such  a  period  has  passed  over  the  City  of  Scranton  and  its  vicinity 
during  the  last  three  months.  In  the  last  days  of  July,  1877,  this  com- 
munity, without  warning — almost  without  premonition — were  required 
to  face  the  most  serious  exigency  and  the  most  insidious  spirit  of  evil 
that  has  ever  yet  disturbed  the  peace  of  society  or  threatened  the  exist- 
ence of  our  municipal  government.  Under  the  extraordinary  and  try- 
ing exigencies,  and  under  the  painful  apprehensions  arising  out  of  the 
lawless  spirit  which  swept  over  the  country  in  July  and  August,  and 


212  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

especially  over  the  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania,  in  connection  with  the 
"Engineers'  and  Miners'  Strike,"  all  eyes  and  all  hearts  in  this  commu- 
nity were  turned  to  you.  In  breathless  bewilderment  and  doubt,  our 
people  watched  and  waited,  under  your  official  leadership,  to  know 
what  could  be  done  for  the  maintenance  of  law.  The  ordeal  has  now 
been  safely  passed ;  your  conduct  as  a  public  officer  has  been  fully 
canvassed  and  tested,  and  your  fellow-citizens,  irrespective  of  creed  or 
political  affiliation,  feel  constrained,  from  their  Christian  manhood  and 
by  their  sense  of  justice,  to  render  you  a  proper  and  grateful  recognition 
of  your  faithful,  patriotic  and  wise  administration  of  the  heavy  duties  of 
your  office  as  Mayor  under  such  a  trying  and  long-continued  disturb- 
ance of  the  city. 

We  know  that  the  true  reward  of  a  just  administration  of  public  trusts, 
to  'an  honest  man,  is  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  and  we  are 
persuaded  that  you  have  sought  for  no  other.  Yet  it  is  due  to  our- 
selves, to  our  estimate  of  righteous  government  and  of  the  best  interests 
of  the  whole  community,  that  we  shall,  in  our  proper  places,  assure  you 
of  the  full  appreciation  of  the  law-abiding  citizens  of  this  community  of 
your  truly  wise,  manly  and  patriotic  fulfillment  of  duty. 

We  therefore  thank  you,  in  behalf  of  ourselves  and  our  children, 
for  your  high  example  of  official  fidelity  under  the  most  extraordinary 
and  trying  conditions. 

When  the  city  seemed  to  be  helpless,  in  a  chaos  of  social  disorder 
and  apprehension,  cut  off  from  the  strong  arm  of  the  Commonwealth ; 
when  State  authority  could  not  come  to  your  help,  you  bravely  stood  at 
your  post,  determined  to  execute  the  law  and  make  no  compromise 
with  lawlessness.  There  are  times  when  for  a  man  to  stand  alone  on 
the  rock  of  the  right  is  to  make  the  position  as  well  as  the  man  sub- 
lime. 

We  recognize  your  spirit  of  calmness  and  wise  consideration,  which 
sought  to  keep  back  a  collision  of  lawless  forces,  while  the  issue  could 
only  be  disaster; — your  earnest  desire  to  prevent  violence,  in  the  con- 
fidence that  a  better  mind  must  ultimately  assert  itself  in  our  bewildered 
people,  who  were  swayed  by  unreasoning  passion. 

We  recognize  your  courage  and  fidelity  when,  with  half  a  dozen  of 
your  police  force,  you  went  out  to  meet  the  infuriated  multitude  from 
the  "Hill  of  Evil  Council,"  with  their  lawless  and  murderous  intent 
partly  executed,  with  the  hope  of  saving  the  city  and  protecting  human 
life  under  the  aegis  of  lawful  authority. 

We  recognize,  too,  the  promptness  and  manly  decision  with  which, 
with  a  handful  of  our  brave  young  men  as  special  police,  you  stood  at 


CIVIL  HISTORY.  213 

the  risk  of  life,  and  while  bleeding  with  wounds,  to  use  deadly  force  to 
arrest  the  mob  and  exorcise  the  murderous  spirit  abroad  when  every- 
thing else  failed.  We  are  proud  to  recall  you,  with  your  little  band  of 
vigilants,  as  you  stood  on  that  memorable  first  day  of  August,  as  a  for- 
lorn hope,  to  save  the  city  from  a  wretched  desolation  and  violence, 
which  the  condition  of  other  cities  of  our  land  at  that  time  proved  to  be 
imminent.  We  not  only  believe  that  you  and  your  special  police,  so 
wisely  organized,  did  God's  service  that  day,  but  that  our  fathers'  God 
was  with  you,  and  that  under  and  by  his  interposition  of  mercy,  this 
spirit  of  all  evil  was  arrested,  if  not.  subdued,  for  the  whole  valley.  You 
fought  and  won  the  battle  of  law  and  order  for  all  the  cities  of  the  re- 
gion, and  lifted  the  office  you  fill  into  its  true  importance  and  dignity. 

We  recognize,  too,  the  unflinching  integrity  with  which,  through 
the  succeeding  months,  you  kept  watch  and  ward,  and  so  administered 
civil  affairs  as  to  secure  order  in  the  midst  of  dormant  forces,  in  smoul- 
dering passions,  and  maintain  civil  authority,  while  the  tramp  of  sol- 
diers and  the  temptations  of  military  power  surrounded  you. 

With  this,  too,  we  express  our  sincere  appreciation  of  all  your  efforts 
to  restore  good  feeling  and  so  to  adjust  all  the  varied  elements  of  our 
population  and  interests  of  our  industries  as  to  place  our  municipal  gov- 
ernment upon  that  basis  on  which  alone  it  can  stand,  the  confidence 
and  patriotic  affection  of  the  masses  of  our  people. 

For  this  honest,  wise,  just  and  successful  administration  of  authority 
vested  in  you,  as  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Scranton,  we  thank  you. 

And  we  present  to  you  this  formal  and  sincere  testimonial,  as  it 
has  been  endorsed  and  adopted,  by  all  our  great  organizations  and.  as- 
sociations, religious,  moral,  beneficent,  social  and  business,  and  signed 
by  the  spontaneous  choice  of  our  people,  irrespective  of  party,  creed  or 
political  considerations. 

Wishing  you,  honored  sir,  all  happiness  and  prosperity,  personally, 
and  a  just  reward  for  able  and  faithful  services  in  your  public  trusts,  we 
subscribe  ourselves  truly  yours,  &c. 

This  testimonial  was  voluntarily  signed,  in  the  illuminated 
book,  by  about  two  thousand  citizens  of  Scranton  and  of  the 
immediate  vicinity.  It  had  the  signatures  of  Governor  Hart- 
ranft  and  all  the  members  of  his  staff,  also  of  all  the  veterans 
of  1812  known  to  be  in  the  county.  It  contained  the  signa- 
tures of  all  the  Protestant  pastors  in  the  city ;  that  of  the  Di- 
rectors of  the  Home  for  the  Friendless,  and  of  the  City  Hos- 


214  A   CITY'S  -DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

pital.  To  it  also  were  affixed  the  signatures  of  the  Officers  and 
Directors  of  all  the  Incorporated  Companies  and  Associations, 
both  business  and  benevolent,  represented  in  the  city,  and  with 
these  the  seals  of  these  corporations.  It  was  signed  by  the 
"Firing  Squad"  of  August  1st,  and  by  all  officers  and  men  of 
the  Scranton  City  Guard.  After  all  these,  many  citizens  of 
Carbondale,  Pittston,  Wilkesbarre,  Bethlehem  and  Pittsburgh, 
in  Pennsylvania,  joined  those  of  Elmira,  Buffalo  and  New  York 
city  in  attaching  their  names  to  this  recognition  of  the  faithful- 
ness of  Mayor  McKune. 

.This  testimonial,  with  its  beautiful  expression  so  sponta- 
neously given,  became  a  lasting  memorial  of  the  appreciation 
which  a  patriotic  people  may  be  always  expected  to  have  of 
the  fidelity  of  public  officials  in  times  of  trial  and  danger.  In 
this  case  it  was  only  the  more  marked  from  the  fact  that  until 
the  day  of  the  riot  in  the  streets,  the  great  body  of  intelligent 
citizens  had  openly  expressed  their  want  of  faith  in  their  chief 
magistrate,  while  the  city  council  had  recorded  their  censure 
of  him.  Perhaps  this  spontaneous  expression  may  have  even 
a  deeper  and  wider  meaning  than  that  of  the  appreciation  of 
this  public  officer,  who  proved  himself  much  more  worthy  than 
his  'constituents  expected.  Is  it  not  the  natural  expression  of 
that  native  and  imperishable  reverence  for  law  on  which 
American  institutions  are  planted,  and  without  which  they  must 
perish  ?  This  testimonial  carries  with  it  the  American  free- 
man's warning  to  all  political  tinkers,  all  remodellers  of  society, 
and  demagogues,  who  are  ever  busy  attempting  to  control 
business  and  trade,  for  both  capital  and  workmen,  for  their  own 
benefit; that  there  is  in  this  free  land  something  which  is  even 
esteemed  more  sacred  than  life  itself. 

There  was  no  respectable  citizen  of  the  city  who  did  not  re- 
gret that  blood  had  to  be  shed  on  the  first  day  of  August  in 
the  street  at  noon  day.  But  when  the  man  who  had  been  set 
to  execute  the  law,  and  who  stood  to  represent  the  dignity  of 


CIVIL   HISTORY.  215 

government  was  spurned  and  insulted;  and  then  murderously 
attacked  by  men  bent  upon  righting  their  own  assumed 
wrongs,  an  issue  was  joined  in  which  no  compromise  was  pos- 
sible, and  the  consequences  must  be  accepted  by  those  who 
brought  it. 

Constitutional  government  in  every  community  is  the  de- 
mand of  all  American  life.  Law  among  freemen  is  but  an 
open  bargain,  expressing  justice  and  fair  play  ;  and  whoever 
comes  into  the  compact  must  stand  to  its  covenants  as  well  as 
share  its  blessings ;  else  take  the  consequences  of  his  failure. 
He  may  ask  for  pity  who  finds  himself  the  victim  of  his  own 
wicked  folly,  but  there  is  no  law  upon  which  he  may  reasona- 
bly demand  or  hope  for  sympathy. 

Old  Governor  Hardin  used  to  regale  his  associates  at  the 
bar,  in  early  times  in  Kentucky,  with  the  details  of  a  case  which 
he  had  tried  on  the  frontier.  It  was  a  case  which  has  never 
been  reported  in  the  books.  It  may  be  well  to  report  it  here, 
as  it  certainly  has  a  lesson  which  all  that  multitude,  who  cry 
for  sympathy  on  behalf  of  those  who  by  transgression  have 
learned  that  law  is  a  real  thing,  would  do  well  to  profit  by. 
Law  has  no  damages  to  pay  to  the  transgressor  for  suffering 
its  own  penalties.     The  case  was  this : 

A  new  County  had  been  surveyed  in  Southern  Kentucky, 
through  which  flowed  that  historic  Salt  River  within  whose 
mysterious  windings  so  many  political  adventurers  have  van- 
ished, ever  propelled  against  the  current.  The  County-seat 
had  been  located  at  the  geographical  centre  without  reference 
to  the  convenience  of  officials.  It  happened  to  be  on  the  bank 
of  the  peaceful  river.  When  the  Court  discovered  the  place,  it 
found  nothing  but  a  deserted  cabin,  with  its  empty  corn-crib 
and  an  ash-leach  in  solitary  dilapidation.  The  cabin  was 
large  enough  to  accommodate  the  judge  and  jury,  with  the 
necessary  lawyers.  But  the  people,  who  had  gathered  from 
miles  around,  had  no  shelter,  as  all  prisoners  were  assigned  to 


216  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

the  Crib.  They  spent  the  night  in  the  open  air,  gathered  about 
a  log-heap  fire.  To  entertain  themselves  and  while  away  the 
night-watches  they  organized  a  community  with  its  constitu- 
tion and  statutes,  all  of  which  were  intelligently  and  solemnly 
adopted.  Each  member  signified  his  adherence,  and  accepted 
his  citizenship,  by  taking  his  place  in  the  row  which  stood 
around  the  fire.  The  organization  complete,  the  new  common- 
wealth proceeded  to  business.  The  first  order,  unanimously 
adopted,  was  the  requirement  of  a  song  from  each  member  in 
the  order  of  his  standing.  If  any  citizen  refused  to  sing,  he 
must  treat  his  fellow-citizens,  of  course.  But  if  he  did  sing,  he 
should  be  respectfully  listened  to,  after  which  all  citizens  should 
be  allowed  to  vote  upon  the  question  put  by  the  presiding  offi- 
cial in  this  form  :  "  Did  the  gentleman  tote  the  tune,  or  did  the 
tune  tote  the  gentleman?" 

If  it  should  be  decided  that  the  tune  "  toted  the  gentleman," 
he  should  be  pitched  feet  foremost  over  the  ash-leach  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  possibly  he  might  slide  into  the  water; 
if  the  condition  of  the  mud  should  permit.  Such  was  the 
governmental  compact  of  the  new  commonwealth  in  this  wil- 
derness on  the  banks  of  Salt  River. 

After  a  number  of  citizens  had  declined  to  sing  and  had  paid 
the  penalty,  a  young  Hebrew,  who  had  music  in  his  soul,  as 
well  as  Jews'-harps  in  his  pack,  agreed  to  sing.  The  citizens 
all  listened  silently  and  respectfully  until  the  singer  ceased. 
Then  they  stood  up  and  voted  solemnly  upon  the  call  of  the 
roll,  when  it  was  found  by  unanimous  judgment  that  "the  tune 
toted  the  gentleman."  The  appointed  officers  immediately 
threw  him  over  the  leach.  He  slid  down  the  bank  and  was 
taken  up  with  a  broken  leg. 

The  next  morning  he  entered  suit  in  the  Court  against  his 
fellow-citizens  for  damages  for  his  broken  limb.  All  day  long 
the  case  lasted,  and  was  conducted  by  the  best  lawyers  the  bar 
afforded.     But  the  jury  decided  upon  the  showing  of  the  facts 


CIVIL   HISTORY.  217 

that  no  claim  for  damages  could  lie.  It  was  an  open  bargain 
which  infringed  no  man's  liberty.  The  plaintiff  had  agreed  to 
the  law  when  he  entered  the  commonwealth.  His  associates 
had  done  him  no  wrong.  They  had  not  even  compelled  him 
to  s.ing.  The  law  of  the  commonwealth  must  be  maintained, 
whosesoever  legs  may  happen  to  suffer.  So  the  case  was  closed. 
So  must  it  ever  be  in  a  commonwealth  of  freemen.  Whatever 
song  the  men  who  propose  to  run  public  affairs  for  American 
citizens,  or  to  order  the  conduct  of  business  for  capitalists,  or 
for  working  men,  may  choose  to  sing,  they  must  expect  the  final 
vote  of  their  audience.  They  must  meet  also  the  decisions  of 
the  law  under  which  the  song  is  sung,  in  a  sentence  from  which 
there  is  no  appeal.  They  take  the  risks,  and  there  can  be  no 
demand  for  either  sympathy  or  damages,  for  him  who  has  vol- 
untarily sung  his  song  and  found  consequences  which  surprise 
both  his  audience  and  himself.  It  is  a  sad  spectacle  to  see 
men  shot  to  the  death  for  their  wicked  folly,  but  it  is  far  worse 
to  see  law  and  order  trodden  down  by  an  angry  mob.  Men 
must  consider  what  they  do  who  trifle  with  that  force  without 
which  liberty  and  Christian  civilization  are  impossible. 


218  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE  CITY  GUARD  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

The  Problems  of  Civil  Organization  and  Financial  Administration — The  Rubbish 
cleared  away — Foundations  laid  which  demand  a  Superstructure — The  Armory- 
completed  and  dedicated — The  Guard  at  Home. 

FROM  the  time  the  contract  for  building  the  Armory  was 
signed  the  work  was  pushed  with  vigor  and  honest  pur- 
pose by  the  contractor,  under  the  efficient  supervision  of 
Captain  Amsden,  the  architect.  The  foundations  were  com- 
pleted in  a  short  time,  and  everything  was  made  ready  for 
laying  the  corner-stone,  which  it  was  determined  to  have  done 
with  Masonic  ceremonies.  The  reason  for  such  a  determina- 
tion possibly  might  be  found  in  the  fact  that  there  were  so  few 
of  the  members  of  this  order  enrolled  in  the  Guard.  The 
fourteenth  day  of  November  was  appointed  for  this  public 
ceremony,  and  on  that  day  the  battalion  was  ordered  out.  At 
two  o'clock,  p.m.,  the  Guard  formed  on  Lackawanna  Avenue, 
in  front  of  their  temporary  armory,  and  marched,  by  way  of 
Wyoming,  to  Spruce  Street.  Here  they  were  joined  by  the 
grand  lodges  of  the  Knights  Templar,  under  command  of 
James  Ruthven.  In  this  procession  the  Scranton  lodge  had 
been  joined  by  the  lodges  from  Wilkes  Barre,  from  Pittston 
and  from  Carbondale,  all  of  whom  had  come  to  do  honor  to  the 
occasion.  The  battalion  escorted  these  lodges  and  led  them 
in  front  of  the  armory  foundation.  This  foundation  had  been 
completed  and  the  first  floor  partly  laid.  Here  the  ranks  of 
the  Guard  were  opened  and  the  Knights  marched  between 


THE   CITY   GUARD  IN   THE  WILDERNESS.  219 

them,  taking  their  position  on  the  floor,  in  front  of  the  battalion. 
As  soon  as  the  Major,  with  his  staff,  had  taken  his  position  be- 
tween the  two  bodies  of  men,  Mayor  McKune  stepped  upon 
the  platform,  and  with  an  appropriate  address,  presented  to  the 
Guard  a  beautiful  regimental  flag  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
on  behalf  of  the  ladies  of  Scranton.  Major  Boies  received 
this  flag  with  an  appropriate  response  of  thanks  to  the  patri- 
otic ladies,  and  unfurled  it,  while  the  Guard  received  it  with 
military  salute. 

After  prayer,  by  the  chaplain,  Mr.  Edward  P.  Kingsbury, 
Grand  Master  of  the  Masons,  was  introduced,  and  proceeded 
at  once  to  lay  the  corner-stone  according  to  the  forms  of  that 
society.  When  this  work  was  completed,  the  orator  chosen 
for  the  occasion,  General  E.  S.  Osborne,  was  introduced  and  en- 
tertained the  audience  with  an  excellent  and  appropriate  ad- 
dress, which  was  received  with  prolonged  cheers. 

The  pageant  was  witnessed  by  an  immense  crowd  of  people 
and  created  new  interest  and  enthusiasm  both  among  the 
Guard  and  their  friends.  The  unexpected  and  patriotic  act 
of  the  ladies  in  presenting  the  flag  was  received  with  special 
gratification  by  all  the  companies.  The  ladies  who  had  sug- 
gested and  carried  through  this  enterprise  were  understood  to 
be  Mrs.  H.  M.  Boies,  the  wife  of  the  Major,  and  daughter  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Dickson,  and  Miss  Frances  Boyd,  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  George  B.  Boyd.  But  there  must  have  been  fifty 
or  a  hundred  of  the  ladies  of  the  best  society  of  the  city  who 
were  interested  and  contributed  to  the  end  proposed. 

Thus  the  enterprise  of  building  the  armory  was  fairly  and 
publicly  launched,  but  the  whole  fund  necessary  to  complete  it 
was  yet  to  be  provided. 

The  Major,  with  the  advice  of  the  Chaplain,  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  Board  of  Officers,  had  involved  the  whole  Guard 
in  the  enterprise,  and  had  determined  to  push  it  through  as  a 
necessity,  in  order  to  the  success  of  the  military  movement. 


220  A   CITY'S  DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Very  soon  perplexity  and  trouble  began  to  be  manifest. 
Murmurs  generated  by  complaints  of  some  of  the  rank  and 
file,  who  had  not  yet  learned  that  military  matters  cannot  be 
conducted  entirely  upon  civil  principles,  began  to  work  as  a 
leaven  in  the  whole  battalion.  Rumors  began  to  take  shape 
in  definite  complaints ;  and  a  demand  was  made  for  the  con- 
sideration of  matters  by  the  Companies  before  the  Guard  should 
be  committed  to  any  enterprise  involving  an  expenditure  of 
money.  The  questions  involved  were  exceedingly  perplexing, 
while  the  steps  already  taken  were  manifestly  not  only  wise, 
but  absolutely  necessary.  The  Chaplain  spent  'his  time  smooth- 
ing down  the  corners  of  controversy  and  seeking  to  secure 
peace  and  good  feeling.  The  Board  of  Officers  gathered  in 
consultation  and  used  their  best  wisdom  to  devise  a  scheme  by 
which  the  Guard  could  be  incorporated,  and  so  be  prepared  to 
hold  property  legally  and  complete  the  enterprise  so  auspi- 
ciously begun  without  a  cent  in  the  treasury.  As  the  result 
of  the  various  consultations  of  the  Board  of  Officers,  and  of  the 
discussions  in  the  meetings  of  the  Companies,  a  business  meet- 
ing of  the  Battalion  was  at  length  called  by  the  Major.  This 
meeting  was  held  in  the  hall  of  the  Second  National  Bank  on 
Thursday  evening,  November  22d,  1877.  At  this  meeting 
there  were  present  thirteen  commissioned  officers  and  one 
hundred  and  nine  enlisted  men. 

The  meeting  was  organized  by  calling  Lieutenant  Samuel 
Hines  to  the  Chair,  and  appointing  Quartermaster  Ruthven 
Secretary.  Major  Boies  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting  as 
two-fold  :  First,  to  hear  a  financial  statement  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Guard ;  and  Second,  to  adopt  some  plan  for  the  incorpo- 
ration of  the  Guard  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  so  that  it  could 
hold  property  and  transact  business. 

Before  submitting  the  financial  report  prepared  by  the  Board 
of  Officers,  the  Major  made  a  clear  and  full  statement  of  all 
his  transactions,  including  all  contracts  made  for  uniforms  at 


THE   CITY  GUARD   IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  221 

$17.50  per  man,  and  the  purchase  of  the  lots  for  the  armory; 
with  the  reasons  which  compelled  the  beginning  of  the  work 
of  building  the  armory  without  delay.  He  also  gave  a  history 
of  the  plans  and  the  letting  of  the  contract  to  the  lowest  bid- 
der, fixing  the  estimated  cost  at  about  eight  thousand  dollars, 
all  of  which  was  yet  to  be  provided  for. 

The  financial  statement  of  the  Board  of  Officers  was  then 
submitted,  as  follows  : — 

RECEIPTS. 

Subscriptions  to  the  Battalion  Fund  received $5734.00 

Subscription  to  Color  Fund  from  the  Ladies 100.05 

Total  of  receipts $5S34-°5 

EXPENDITURES. 

Expended  as  per  vouchers $2867.20 

Cash  in  Bank  (Third  National) $2966.85 

Amount  of  unpaid  subscription 800.00 

State  appropriation,  now  due 2400.00 

Making  the  available  resources  of  the  Guard $6166.85 

LIABILITIES. 

For  Armory  lots $4000.00 

To  Iron  and  Coal  Company,  for  cloth 927-34 

To  Evans  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  for  uniforms....       842.76 
To  Hunt  Bros,  bill 29.18 

Total  of  liabilities $5799-28 

Balance $367-57 

This  statement  was  referred  to  an  auditing  committee,  who 
subsequently  reported  it  as  entirely  correct ;  the  auditing  com- 
mittee being  constituted  by  the  appointment  of  one  member 
from  each  Company,  as  follows  :  Company  A,  Henry  E.  Hess ; 
B,  Wm.  J.  Watts;  C,  Charles  E.  Judson;  D,  A.  W.  Dickson. 

As  soon  as  this  financial  report  had  been  disposed  of,  and 
the  course  of  the  Major  and  Board  of  Officers  had  been  cor- 


222  A  CITY'S   DANGER   AND   DEFENSE. 

diaily  approved  by  unanimous  vote,  the  second  object  of  the 
meeting  was  taken  up.  According  to  the  best  calculations, 
founded  upon  the  contracts  already  made,  at  least  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  must  be  raised  before  the  Armory  could  be  com- 
pleted, and  the  first  payment  on  the  contract  would  be  due 
December  1st. 

Major  Boies  stated  with  great  clearness  the  present  exigency, 
and  the  steps  he  conceived  necessary  to  be  taken.  Of  course, 
the  first  thing  to  be  done  would  be  to  incorporate  the  Guard 
in  some  way,  in  order  to  the  holding  of  the  property  already 
acquired,  and  to  the  transaction  of  the  business  necessary  to 
the  sustaining  of  the  Guard.  He  stated  that  he,  with  Mr. 
Henry  Belin,  and  other  members  of  the  battalion,  had  at- 
tempted to  borrow  the  eight  thousand  dollars  required,  upon 
a  pledge  of  the  lots  for  security,  agreeing  to  repay  the  amount 
in  annual  installments  of  twenty  per  cent.,  with  interest  at 
seven  per  cent., — that  they  had  even  offered,  personally,  to 
guarantee  these  payments  for  two  years.  But  they  could  find 
no  capitalist  in  Scranton,  in  New  York,  in  Philadelphia  or 
Wilmington,  Del.,  who  was  willing  to  furnish  the  money. 

The  board  of  officers,  after  much  discussion  and  conference 
with  the  best  business  men  in  the  Guard,  finally  agreed  to 
recommend,  First  :  That  the  Guard  should  be  incorporated 
under  the  form  of  a  "  limited  partnership,"  as  the  more  con- 
venient organization,  and  especially  because  such  an  organiza- 
tion could  be  completed  without  delay,  while  it  would  require, 
at  least,  two  months  to  secure  an  ordinary  charter  through 
the  courts.  It  was  proposed  to  limit  the  stock  to  eight  thousand 
dollars,  in  three  hundred  and  twenty  shares  at  twenty-five 
dollars  a  share.  This  plan  proposed  a  board  of  directors 
composed  of  three  members  chosen  from  each  company,  and 
three  from  the  field  and  staff,  and  the  partnership  to  run  for 
ten  years. 

It  was  proposed  to  use  the  yearly  appropriation  of  six 


THE  CITY  GUARD   IN  THE  WILDERNESS.  223 

hundred  dollars  to  each  company  from  the  State,  for  armory- 
rent,  amounting  to  twenty-four  hundred  dollars,  for  the  gradual 
payment  of  the  stock.  In  order  to  make  the  stock  popular, 
it  was  proposed  to  pay  to  the  stockholders  annually  twenty 
per  cent,  of  their  stock,  with  seven  per  cent,  interest,  until  the 
stock  should  be  entirely  redeemed ;  then  to  pay  six  per  cent, 
on  the  par  value  of  this  stock  as  long  as  the  partnership  should 
continue. 

The  presentation  of  this  scheme  led  to  long  and  animated 
discussion  among  the  business  men  of  the  Guard.  Finally, 
in  order  to  end  the  discussion,  on  motion  of  Henry  E.  Hess, 
the  whole  matter  was  referred  to  a  general  committee,  com- 
posed of  three  members  from  each  company,  which  committee 
should  first  obtain  the  judgment  of  the  company  appointing 
them,  and  then  report  to  a  business  meeting  of  the  battalion. 
The  several  companies  then  organized  and  appointed  these 
committees  as  follows : 

Company  (A)  H.  E.  Hess,  J.  H.  Torrey   and  J.  C.  Highriter. 
Company  (B)  E.  F.  Chamberlin,  John  T.  Howe  and  W.  K.  Logan. 
Company  (C)  L.  A.  Watres,  J.  A.  Culver  and  C.  E.  Judson. 
Company  (D)  E.  B.  Sturges,  S.  B.  Price  and  A.  W.  Dickson. 

The  business  meeting  then  adjourned  until  Saturday,  No- 
vember 24th,  at  7.30,  p.m.,  in  order  to  give  these  committees 
time  to  act.  On  the  24th  the  battalion  met  according  to  ad- 
journment, and  finding  each  company  had  a  majority  of  its 
members  present,  proceeded  to  take  up  the  questions  of  civil 
organization  and  of  the  raising  of  the  fund  necessary  to  meet 
the  armory  contract. 

The  committee  appointed  by  the  companies  by  their  chair- 
man, Alexander  W.  Dickson,  presented  an  unanimous  report, 
which  covered  the  whole  case,  as  far  as  it  was  possible,  at  that 
time.  After  full  discussion  and  some  amendments,  suggested 
by  companies  A  and  D,  this  report  was  unanimously  adopted. 


224  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

By  this  action  the  chaos  began  to  be  reduced  to  order,  and 
the  perplexing  position  of  the  Major  and  Board  of  Officers 
was  relieved. 

The  main  points  determined  were  as  follows : — 

First,  That  the  Battalion  should  at  once  be  incorporated 
under  the  name,  style  and  title  of  "  The  Scranton  City  Guard 
Association." 

Second,  That  a  committee  of  one  member  from  each  com- 
pany should  be  appointed  to  secure  a  charter  under  the  law, 
take  subscriptions  for  bonds,  and  secure  titles  to  property  be- 
longing to  the  guard.  Also  that  hereafter,  in  the  direction 
and  government  of  the  association,  each  company  and  the  bat- 
talion headquarters  should  be  equally  represented. 

Third,  That  the  association  should  issue  bonds  to  the  amount 
of  its  indebtedness,  but  not  to  exceed  eighty-five  hundred  dol- 
lars. These  bonds  to  be  redeemable  in  five  years,  and  abso- 
lutely payable  in  ten  years,  with  the  interest  on  them  payable 
semi-annually  at  six  per  cent. 

Fourth,  That  each  company  should  apply  annually  two- 
thirds  of  its  State  appropriation,  for  a  sinking  fund  for  the  re- 
demption of  these  bonds,  and  for  the  payment  of  interest  and 
taxes ;  also  that  one-half  of  this  amount  should  be  used  for  the 
payment  of  interest  and  taxes,  and  the  other  half  placed  in  the 
sinking  fund. 

Fifth,  That  these  bonds  should  be  offered  to  outside  parties 
before  members  of  the  Guard  were  asked  to  take  them. 

Sixth,  That  each  company  should  at  once  vote  its  whole 
appropriation  from  the  State  to  the  battalion  fund,  under  the 
above  regulation. 

Seventh,  That  each  company  should  elect  one  man  to  act  on 
a  committee,  of  which  Major  Boies  should  be  chairman,  to 
carry  on  the  armory  work,  and  any  other  business  of  the 
Guard,  until  the  "Association"  should  complete  its  organiza- 
tion, and  have  full  power  to  act. 


THE  CITY   GUARD   IN   THE  WILDERNESS.  225 

By  these  measures  the  battalion  was  at  once  harmonized, 
and  a  spirit  of  generous  unity  created.  The  clouds  which  the 
fault-finding  spirit  had  generated,  were  dissipated  at  once,  and 
all  criticism  of  the  energetic  and  devoted  commander  was 
strangled  and  buried  by  the  following  resolutions,  which  were 
introduced  by  Mr.  Hess,  of  Company  A,  and  earnestly 
seconded  by  Corporal  Dickson,  of  Company  D ;  to  wit. : 

"  Whereas  :  Major  Boies  has  presented  his  report  to  this  battalion, 
which  covers  all  acts  and  plans  hitherto  pursued,  and  which  satisfacto- 
rily accounts  for  all  moneys  received  and  disbursed,  under  direction  of 
the  officers  of  the  battalion ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  battalion  are  hereby  cordially  ten- 
dered, ist.  to  the  citizens'  committee,  Messrs.  Logan,  Willard  and  Gil- 
more,  and  the  generous  contributors  for  their  prompt  provision  of  the 
funds  needed  to  organize  and  equip  the  guard.  2d.  to  the  Major  and 
the  staff  and  line  officers,  for  their  carefulness  and  diligent  labor  in  dis- 
bursing the  same  for  the  benefit  of  the  battalion,  according  to  their  best 
judgment ;  and  this  battalion  hereby  renews  its  determination  to  strive, 
by  all  proper  means' and  reasonable  sacrifices,  to  prove  itself  worthy  of 
the  high  compliments  and  generous  support  of  the  city,  whose  guard  it 
proposes  to  be." 

This  endorsement  of  the  course  taken  by  the  Major,  and  his 
counsellors,  was  adopted  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  the  pledge 
contained  therein  was  taken  by  open,  individual  response,  and 
a  unanimous  vote. 

The  Major  responded  modestly  and  briefly  to  the  compli- 
ments tendered  him  by  the  command ;  when,  by  a  separate 
resolution  he  was  authorized  to  borrow,  on  behalf  of  the  guard, 
such  amounts  of  money  as  might  be  needed  to  meet  outstand- 
ing obligations,  while  the  negotiation  of  the  bonds  was  being 
attempted. 

The  committee,  provided  for  in  the  action  of  the  battalion  to 

secure  the  charter  and  carry  on  the  work,  in  conjunction  with 

Major  Boies  and  the  Chaplain  ;  who  were  the  only  members 

of  the  original  committee  on  armory  who  were  still  acting,  was 

15 


226  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

constituted  by  Company  elections  on  the  same  evening,  as  fol- 
lows: Robert  Macmillan,  of  Company  A;  R.  B.  Merriam,  of 
Company  B;  H.  A.  Coursen,  of  Company  C;  E.  B.  Sturges,  of 
Company  D.  These  gentlemen  entered  upon  their  work  with 
promptness,  and  prosecuted  it  with  energy;  but  ultimately 
this  work  fell  chiefly  into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Sturges  and 
Logan. 

E.  B.  Sturges,  Esq.,  was  appointed  a  sub-committee  to 
draw  up  all  necessary  legal  papers  and  secure  the  charter  of 
the  association.  After  careful  examination  of  the  law  in  the 
case,  and  consideration  of  all  the  interests  involved,  a  charter 
was  secured  by  Mr.  Sturges,  which  incorporated,  as  a  stock 
company,  the  battalion  under  the  title  of  "The  Scranton  City 
Guard  Association."  This  charter  gave  the  association  twenty 
years  of  existence,  and  was  dated  January  14th,  1878. 

Mr.  Charles  E.  Judson  was  appointed,  with  Major  Boies, 
to  have  charge  of  the  whole  work  of  constructing  and  fur- 
nishing the  armory,  and  this  committee  was  given  full  power 
to  act. 

A  Board  of  Managers  was  appointed  in  due  time,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  charter,  which  was 
made  up  of  an  equal  representation  from  the  four  companies 
and  the  battalion  headquarters,  each  of  these  having  one 
member  nominated  by  the  companies  and  elected  by  the  as- 
sociation. The  first  Board  consisted  of  George  B.  Foster, 
from  Company  A ;  William  Kellow,  Company  B ;  H.  A. 
Coursen,  Company  C;  E.  B.  Sturges,  Company  D;  Major 
Boies,  from  headquarters;  and  Lieutenant  L.  A.  Watres,  al- 
ready the  treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Officers,  was  appointed 
treasurer  of  this  Board  of  Directors,  and  acted  for  the  civil 
organization  until  he  was  succeeded  by  Robert  Macmillan,  the 
adjutant  of  the  guard. 

It  was  at  length  determined  to  issue  the  stock  in  one-fifth 
shares  to  each  member  of  the  Guard  at  the  completion  of  a 


THE  CITY  GUARD   IN  THE  WILDERNESS.  227 

year's  honorable  service,  until  the  full  term  of  five  years'  en- 
listment should  be  completed,  when  each  member  honorably 
discharged  as  a  veteran  should  possess  one  full  share  of 
stock,  and  each  certificate  of  one-fifth  entitled  the  holder  to 
one  vote  in  all  business  of  the  association. 

Under  this  arrangement  the  companies  turned  over  all 
their  State  appropriations  to  the  expense  of  the  building,  and 
paid  their  assessments  for  the  running  expenses  of  the  battal- 
ion, until  all  the  debts  of  the  Guard  were  paid;  understanding 
that  at  the  end  of  five  years  the  holders  of  the  stock  would  be 
the  owners  of  the  property, — under  this  restriction,  however, 
according  to  the  charter,  that  the  property  could  only  be  held 
and  used  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  "  the  Scranton 
City  Guard."  But  the  most  pressing  necessity  was  that  of 
immediately  securing,  the  money  for  the  payment  of  the  con- 
tract on  the  armory,  which  was  rapidly  being  pushed  to  com- 
pletion. 

It  was  determined  by  the  Board  of  Managers  to  issue  eight 
bonds  in  the  denomination  of  one  thousand  dollars  each,  and 
one  bond  of  five  hundred  dollars ;  in  all  amounting  to  eighty- 
five  hundred  dollars,  at  six  per  cent,  interest.  These  bonds 
were  to  be  secured  by  a  mortgage  upon  the  armory  lots,  with 
their  improvements;  the  said  mortgage  to  be  held  by  a  board 
of  three  trustees  for  the  bondholders,  and  at  least  one  of 
these  bonds  redeemable  each  year. 

These  bonds  were  ready  for  the  market  the  latter  part  of 
November,  1877,  an(^  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Chap- 
lain, with  the  urgent  request  of  the  president  of  the  Board  of 
Managers,  Mr.  E.  B.  Sturges,  that  he  would  give  himself  to 
the  work  of  placing  them.  The  Chaplain  accepted  the  work, 
and  followed  it  up  with  persistence  until  they  were  all  sold, 
and  their  value  was  placed  in  the  treasury  before  the  build- 
ing was  completed.  These  bonds  were  taken  by  gentlemen 
connected  with  the  First  National  Bank,  the    Lackawanna 


228  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Iron  and  Coal  Company,  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and 
Western  Railroad  Company,  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
Canal  Company,  and  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company,  as  a 
business  transaction,  while  each  of  these  companies  manifested 
a  readiness  to  treat  the  Guard  with  great  generosity. 

The  five  hundred  dollar  bond  was  taken  by  the  Honorable 
William  E.  Dodge,  of  New  York  City,  who  at  once  returned  it 
to  the  Chaplain  of  the  Guard,  under  the  agreement  that  it  should 
remain  "a  perpetual  bond,"  the  interest  of  which,  at  six  per 
cent,  should  be  annually  paid  to  the  Chaplain  of  the  Guard  to 
meet  his  own  expenses  while  on  duty,  or  to  be  expended  by 
him  in  aiding  such  deserving  members  of  the  Guard  as  were 
unable  to  pay  their  dues  and  assessments,  or  meet  their  per- 
sonal expenses  in  the  performance  of  military  duty.  This, 
Mr.  Dodge  stipulated,  should  be  called  "  The  Chaplain's 
Bond." 

The  five  hundred  dollars  for  which  this  bond  was  sold  were 
paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  association,  and  a  special  receipt 
taken  by  the  Chaplain,  as  ordered  by  the  Board  of  Managers 
and  the  Board  of  Officers.  In  April  of  1880  this  bond  was 
cancelled,  with  the  consent  of  the  Chaplain,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  cancel  the  mortgage  upon  which  all  the  bonds  were  issued; 
and  upon  the  pledge  of  the  Board  of  Managers  that  a  new  bond 
should  be  issued  to  the  Chaplain,  or  that  the  obligations  of  the 
covenant,  growing  out  of  the  acceptance  of  the  money  by  the  as- 
sociation, should  be  met  in  some  other  practical  form.  The 
interest  upon  this  bond  continues  to  be  paid  to  the  Chaplain, 
and  has  each  year  been  expended  by  him  in  accordance  with 
the  design  of  the  generous  donor. 

By  the  sale  of  these  bonds  the  association  was  able  to  meet 
all  the  payments  upon  the  contract  for  the  building  of  the  ar- 
mory, and  on  the  20th  of  March,  1878,  a  receipt  in  full  was 
taken  from  the  builder.  All  claims  upon  the  armory  were 
cancelled  at  that  time  except  the  mortgage  held  in  trust  for  the 


THE   CITY   GUARD   IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  229 

bondholders  as  security  for  the  payment  of  the  bonds,  as  they 
should  become  due. 

Thus,  through  the  persevering  efforts  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers, sustained  by  the  self-sacrificing  fidelity  and  generosity  of 
the  whole  command,  the  finances  of  the  battalion  were  reduced 
to  order,  and  the  whole  membership  was  set  to  work  upon  a 
plan,  by  which  it  was  expected  to  place  the  City  Guard  upon 
an  independent  and  permanent  footing  within  five  years. 

It  would  be,  perhaps,  invidious  to  distinguish,  by  special 
mention,  the  men  worthy  of  special  honor  in  the  service  in 
which  all  members  of  the  Guard  gave  their  hearty  co-opera- 
tion, according  to  their  ability  and  oportunity.  Yet  the  his- 
torian would  fail  of  making  a  just  record,  if  no  mention  is 
made  of  individuals,  to  whose  wisdom  and  faithful  service, 
even  in  the  face  of  misinterpretation  and  consequent  fault- 
finding, the  success  was  evidently  due. 

The  civil  administration  of  a  military  organization  is  both 
perplexing,  and  without  the  rewards  of  conspicuous  honor. 
The  Commissary  and  Quartermaster  are  awarded  a  very  small 
proportion  of  the  glory  of  successful  warfare,  under  any  circum- 
stances ;  and  they  may  be  easily  saddled  with  a  disproportion- 
ate share  of  the  shame  of  the  disastrous  retreat.  The  real 
sinews  of  war,  as  those  of  the  human  frame,  are  all  covered 
from  sight,  and  their  appearance  upon  the  outside  would  gen- 
erally be  taken  as  a  creditable  evidence  that  they  are  weak  and 
unreliable.  Yet  all  history  shows  that,  while  honorable  men- 
tion is  never  made  of  the  men  in  the  rear  of  the  battle,  unless 
by  some  abnormal  accident  they  are  brought  to  the  front, 
every  wise  commander  is  constantly  careful  to  protect  his  com- 
munications and  his  base  of  supplies.  If  he  is  wise  and  just 
he  will  give  due  honor  to  the  men  who  are  efficient  and  faith- 
ful in  the  administration. 

We  conceive  it  then  but  a  matter  of  simple  justice  to  some 
of  the  best  citizens  and  friends  of  the  military  organization, 


230  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

who  appear  in  this  civil,  and  financial,  service  of  the  Guard 
that  a  record  of  their  names  at  least  should  be  made. 

The  first  of  these  men  who  should  have  honorable  mention 
in  the  civil  administration,  without  question,  is  Edward  B. 
Sturges,  Esq.,  who  served  five  years,  with  manifestly  no  desire 
for  military  preferment,  as  a  private  of  Company  D  in  the  rear 
rank.  Mr.  Sturges  always  maintained  his  own  unfitness,  or  in- 
capacity, as  he  expressed  it,  for  the  duties  of  a  soldier.  With- 
out question  or  objection,  he  paid  all  fines  for  delinquency  and 
assessments  by  the  company,  and  appeared  on  all  inspections 
for  five  years  with  a  clean  record,  while  he  as  persistently  got 
excused  from  weekly  drills  and  avoided  dress  parades. 

He  was  always  conspicuous  for  his  manly  and  Christian 
integrity;  and  none  ever  doubted  his  unflinching  courage, 
or  the  worthiness  of  his  service,  if  the  Guard  should  be 
called  into  actual  field  service.  But  he  was  the  only  man 
in  the  battalion  who  was  able  to  maintain  a  genuine  popularity 
in  his  company  and  in  the  Guard  for  five  years,  while  he  per- 
sistently and  constantly  shirked  the  play,  and  the  forms,  and 
the  drudgery  of  the  soldier's  life. 

As  president  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  Mr.  Sturges  took 
up  the  work  of  the  civil  administration,  and  pushed  it  forward 
with  wisdom  and  perseverance  until  the  Guard  was  placed  on 
a  stable  basis.  While  his  military  inspection  or  his  attend- 
ance on  drill  were  constantly  of  a  sort  to  add  no  great  amount 
of  glory  to  the  Guard,  his  devotion  to  the  real  interests  in- 
volved, and  his  manly  integrity,  kept  him  in  step  with  the 
battalion ;  and  made  him  a  counsellor  for  the  Guard,  always 
loved  and  trusted.  The  City  of  Scranton  has  had  few  citi- 
zens more  devoted  to  its  best  interests  or  more  worthy  of 
true  honor. 

There  were  also  many  citizens  not  directly  enrolled  in  the 
Guard  who,  by  their  generosity  and  financial  wisdom,  ren- 
dered service  which  ought  not  to  be  forgotten.    Among  these 


THE   CITY  GUARD   IN  THE  WILDERNESS.  231 

were  William  F.  Hallstead,  Superintendent  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western  Railway,  and  James  W.  Fowler,  his 
assistant,  who  counseled  the  Chaplain  and  afforded  him  all 
possible  facilities,  and  help,  in  placing  the  armory  bonds.  Mr. 
Hallstead  was  a  man  of  unflinching  integrity  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  his  high  trust.  Through  the  years  of  this  history 
he  was  unwearied  in  his  generous  efforts  to  help  on  the  boys 
in  their  atttempt  to  make  the  Guard  worthy  of  the  support 
of  the  city.  To  him  as  the  representative  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western  Railway  Company,  and  to  William 
R.  Storrs,  the  General  Coal  Agent,  the  battalion  is  indebted 
for  a  series  of  favors,  which  greatly  encouraged  both  officers 
and  men.  This  company  took  a  number  of  the  Armory  bonds 
at  their  face,  and  returned  one  of  a  thousand  dollars,  cancel- 
led for  the  benefit  of  the  organization. 

The  Directors  of  this  great  corporation,  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  such  men  as  Samuel  Sloan,  their  President,  Moses 
Taylor,  the  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge,  Sr.,  Percy  R.  Pyne, 
Hon.  William  Walter  Phelps,  Hon.  John  Brisbin  and  B.  G. 
Clarke  took  a  generous  interest  in  all  the  efforts  to  establish 
the  City  Guard.  They  helped  efficiently  to  lift  the  burdens 
from  the  shoulders  of  the  young  men. 

The  Directors  and  officials  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and 
Coal  Company  manifested  a  like  generosity  in  the  support  of 
all  measures  taken  by  the  citizens  to  preserve  order,  and  pro- 
tect the  city ;  not  only  on  and  before  the  day  of  the  riot,  when 
their  own  property  was  peculiarly  exposed,  but  in  all  the 
after-struggles  to  protect  the  young  men  who  dispersed  the 
mob,  and  in  the  long  watch  and  work,  which  established  the 
City  Guard.  Under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  W.  W.  Scranton, 
their  General  Manager,  this  company  provided  the  counsel 
who  defended  the  firing  squad,  and  paid  all  the  bills  of  cost 
in  their  trial.  They  furnished  most  of  the  effective  guns  for 
the  defense  of  the  city,  and  allowed  their  property  to  be  used 


232  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

for  headquarters  for  the  organization  of  the  Guard.     Among 
the  directors  of  this  company  should  be  especially  mentioned 
Mr.  Joseph  Curtis  Piatt  and  Mr.  James  Blair,  of  Scranton, 
who  identified  themselves  thoroughly  and  personally,  as  well 
as  officially,  with  the  work  and  burdens  of  the  Guard.     Mr. 
Piatt  seemed  to  have  nothing  he  was  not  ready  to  turn  over 
to  the  service  of  the  boys,  in  their  brave  undertaking.     His 
beautiful  grounds  he  allowed  them  to  convert  into  a  drill  and 
parade  ground,  and  in  all  exigencies  stood  with  them.     John 
I.  Blair,  of  New  Jersey,  became  also  conspicuous  for  his  sup- 
port of  the  Guard.     Through  his  generosity  several  thousand 
dollars  of  the  bonds  were  taken,  and  he  returned  one  of  these 
cancelled  for  the  benefit  of  the  enterprise.     The   officials   of 
this  company,  who  were  citizens  of  Scranton,  without  excep- 
tion, have  always  been  leaders  in  the  enterprises  which  have 
conserved  the  well-being  of  the  city.     But  Mr.  Charles  F. 
Mattes  deserves  special  record,  not  only  for  his  high  personal 
excellence, and  his  perpetual  sacrifices  and  benevolence;  in  all 
matters  which  concerned  the  public  good,  but  specially  for 
his   untiring  patriotic  devotion  to  the  right,  in   the  time   of 
peril.     With   the  truest  sympathy  for  the  honest  workman ; 
one  of  whom  he  has  been  all  his  life,  through  a  long  public 
service  he  opposed  with  all  the  force  of  his  nature  any  deflec- 
tion from  the  plain  path  of  honor  and  honesty.     He  stood 
ready  to  divide  his  last  dollar  to  aid  in  the  maintenance  of 
truth  and  order.     The  City  Guard  never  had  a  better  or  more 
reliable  friend.     Without  his  knowledge,  his  portrait  has  been 
placed  in  this  work  by  his  appreciative  friends,  who  knew  per- 
fectly what  the  result  must  be  if  his  consent  had  been  asked  ; 
and  yet  who  felt  that  it  is  but  right  to  perpetuate  the  shadow  of 
the  worthy  man  who  has  been  the  servant  of  the  city's  best 
interests  in  all  its  history. 

Mr.  Thomas  Dickson,  the  President  of  the  Delaware  and 
Hudson    Canal    Company,    was    endowed    remarkably   with 


GrfcUbrftsj 


THE   CITY  GUARD   IN  THE  WILDERNESS.  233 

practical  wisdom,  and  had  the  confidence  and  best  wishes  of 
more  of  the  workmen  in  the  valley,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
man ;  and  he  did  great  service  in  all  the  labor  disturbances 
which  visited  the  valley.  But  in  the  time  of  the  great  strike 
he  was  residing  in  New  York.  His  visit  to  Scranton,  with 
other  railway-men,  doubtless  did  much  good  in  the  way  of 
softening  down  the  points  of  collision,  and  when  he  returned, 
it  was  with  the  persuasion  that  the  strike  was  virtually  ended. 
He  was  always  a  man  of  peace,  and  had  great  influence  with 
honest  strikers.  Hence  he  was  always  a  little  doubtful  of 
the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  dispersing  with  deadly  means 
the  mob  which  he  did  not  see.  Nevertheless  he  sustained, 
with  characteristic  generosity,  all  the  measures  undertaken  to 
establish  a  City  Guard  of  the  best  character.  The  city  never 
had  a  more  able  or  greater-souled  citizen  than  Mr.  Dickson, 
nor  the  young  men  of  the  Guard  a  better  friend. 

With  him  were  associated  intimately  Mr.  Joseph  J.  Albright, 
Edward  W.  Weston,  A.  H.  Vandling  and  J.  M.  Chittenden, 
officials  of  the  same  company,  all  of  whom  heartily  and  perse- 
veringly  watched  over  the  city's  interests,  and  gave  freely 
their  money  to  help  to  bear  the  grievous  burdens  of  the  time. 

The  movers  in  this  public  measure,  of  establishing  an  armory 
and  of  placing  the  City  Guard  upon  an  assured  footing,  must 
also  hold  in  honor  and  cherish  in  kind  remembrance  a  large 
number  of  the  best  citizens  of  that  time.  They  were  men  to 
be  relied  upon  to  sustain  the  right  under  all  circumstances. 
They  were  such  citizens  as  Frederick  Fuller,  who  knew  no  fear 
in  the  path  of  duty,  Wm.  Connell,  Wm.  T.  Smith,  Geo.  L. 
Dickson,  Robert  T.  Black,  Dr.  B.  H.  Throop,  Sidney  Broad- 
bent,  George  Sanderson,  Edward  Merrifield,  Alfred  Hand,  C. 
W.  Roesler,  James  Archbald,  Joseph  A.  Scranton,  John  Jer- 
myn,  E.  C.  Fuller,  Wm.  F.  Mattes,  C.  D.  Breck,  H.  S.  Pierce, 
Geo.  A.  Jessup,  Thomas  Moore,  and  a  host  of  others ;  men 
who  bear   through    life  the  patent   of   a   true   nobility,   the 


234  A  CITY'S  DANGER  AND  DEFENSE. 

marks  of  virtuous  American  citizenship.  They  were  all  suc- 
cessful working  men,  and  their  sympathies  were  always  with 
honest  working  men.  But  when  the  question  of  law  and  order, 
which  was  directly  involved  in  the  strike  of  1877,  became  the 
issue,  they  boldly  risked  all  their  interests  in  the  city,  which 
were  apparently  at  the  mercy  of  the  strikers.  They  marched 
with  the  boys  to  the  front  and  stood  by  them  until  their 
standing  was  secured.  These  constituted  the  reserve  force, 
without  whose  generous  and  patriotic  support,  the  venture  of 
the*  young  men  must  have  ended  in  failure.  These  friends  of 
the  City  Guard  deserve  perpetual  gratitude  of  the  city,  as  well 
as  of  the  Guard,  for  their  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  this 
organization,  which  in  its  earlier  life  stood  as  the  most  efficient 
barrier  to  that  dangerous  spirit  which  was  generated  by  the 
great  strike  of  1877  and  kept  alive  for  some  years  after  the 
strike  ended. 

The  work  on  the  armory,  under  the  supervision  of  architect 
Amsden,  went  steadily  forward,  while  the  board  of  managers 
perplexed  themselves  over  rapidly  accumulating  bills,  and  the 
Chaplain  attempted  to  gather  funds  out  of  the  wrecks  of  the 
terrible  strike,  notwithstanding  the  dullness  of  business  and 
the  financial  strain  upon  all  classes.  The  elements  conspired 
to  retard  the  completion  of  the  building,  consequently  the 
contractor  was  two  full  months  behind  his  agreement.  His 
work  was,  however,  generously  accepted,  and  the  31st  of 
January  was  set  apart  for  the  grand  opening  and  dedication 
of  the  completed  Armory. 

Efficient  committees  were  appointed  under  the  general  su- 
pervision of  Quartermaster  Ruthven.  The  building  was  mag- 
nificently decorated,  and  invitations  sent  to  all  the  friends  of 
the  Guard  in  the  city,  to  the  Governor,  and  other  public  func- 
tionaries, in  the  State,  and  a  large  number  of  distinguished 
men  of  the  Commonwealth.  When  the  evening  arrived,  the 
Guard,  in  uniform,  every  officer  and  private  present,  were  pre- 


THE   CITY  GUARD   IN  THE  WILDERNESS.  235 

pared  to  welcome  their  friends.  The  night  proved  to  be  very- 
stormy,  but  the  enthusiasm  could  neither  be  drowned  nor 
frozen. 

By  nine  o'clock,  p.m.,  the  new  building,  grandly  illuminated, 
was  filled  with  as  brilliant  a  company  of  guests  as  the  city  had 
ever  been  able  to  gather  together. 

Major  Boies  presided,  and  at  half-past  nine  o'clock,  in  com- 
pany with  his  staff,  he  mounted  the  platform,  accompanied  by 
the  invited  speakers  for  the  occasion.  After  reading  telegrams 
of  regrets  from  the  Governor  and  other  distinguished  gentle- 
men who  had  not  been  able  to  come,  the  Major  introduced  the 
speakers  of  the  evening,  who  were  received  with  enthusiastic 
greetings. 

The  first  address  was  made  by  A.  H.  Winton,  of  the  Scran- 
ton  bar;  in  which  he  paid  a  high  tribute  to  the  citizen  soldiery, 
and  especially  to  that  portion  which  had  sprung  from  the  stand 
that  was  taken  by  the  brave  fifty,  who,  on  the  first  of  August, 
had  placed  themselves  between  the  city  and  the  mob  that 
sought  its  ruin.  He  praised  the  perseverance  and  public  spirit 
which  brought  about  as  its  consummation  this  beautiful  Ar- 
mory for  the  first  time  opened. 

The  Hon.  Stanley  Woodward,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  next 
introduced  as  the  invited  orator  of  the  occasion.  Judge 
Woodward's  address  was  both  appropriate  and  graceful ;  chiefly 
demonstrating  that  the  destruction  of  the  war  spirit  is  to  be 
secured  by   the  completeness  of  the  preparations  for  war. 

He  stated  that  the  peace,  safety  and  good  order  of  any  com- 
munity very  much  depended,  in  times  of  passion  and  excite- 
ment, upon  its  ability  to  destroy;  that  when  catapults  and  bat- 
tering rams,  or  flint-lock  fire-arms  were  the  weapons  of  socie- 
ty, war  was  chronic.  Modern  warfare  is  acute,  and  every  new 
invention  in  death -dealing  fire-arms  is  a  new  argument  for 
peace  and  good  will.  To  have  good  arms,  and  know  when 
and  how  to  use  them,  to  preserve  organization  and  be  able  to 


236  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

understand  orders  and  obey  them — in  short,  to  be  a  force  in 
the  community,  every,  military  body  must  have  a  local  habit- 
ation like  this  Armory,  which  we  dedicate  to-night. 

This  building  is  not  only  harmonious  and  graceful  in  its 
architecture,  but  is  in  perfect  accord  also  with  all  the  interests 
which  hang  upon  the  prevalence  of  peace,  and  the  supremacy 
of  order.  It  will  ever  stand  as  a  menace  only  to  that  which 
is  bad. 

The  soldiers  who  are  to  occupy  this  armory  are  citizen-sol- 
diers, and  it  is  true  that  in  all  great  emergencies  the  citizens 
look  to  themselves. 

Judge  Woodward's  address  was  received  with  enthusiastic 
demonstrations  throughout,  both  as  forceful  and  appropriate. 
He  was  followed  by  his  honor,  Mayor  McKune,  who  briefly 
expressed  his  confidence  in  the  Guard,  and  his  gratification 
that  they  had  secured  so  comfortable  a  home. 

After  a  few  complimentary  remarks  by  General  Osborne, 
the  Chaplain  of  the  Guard  was  introduced  as  a  representative 
of  the  battalion,  and  gave  a  short  address,  after  which  the 
Major  declared  the  armory  sufficiently  dedicated  as  a  con- 
venience for  war,  and  led  the  public  into  the  happy  social  en- 
joyments of  the  evening. 

At  a  late  hour  the  brilliant  company,  having  been  refreshed, 
and  heartily  sympathizing  in  the  success  with  which  the  ef- 
forts of  the  Guard  had  been  crowned,  departed  to  their  homes, 
and  a  new  and  permanent  mark  of  the  city's  progress  appeared 
on  the  first  morning  of  February,  1878. 

The  completed  Armory  had,  besides  the  drill  room,  on  the 
first  floor,  a  convenient  company  room  for  each  of  the  four 
companies  which  were  assigned  by  lot ;  and  on  the  second 
floor  three  rooms,  which  were  appointed — one  for  headquarters, 
one  for  the  Quartermaster,  and  one  for  Adjutant  of  the  Guard. 

The  battalion  received  new  life,  and  the  work  of  real  mili- 
tary discipline  began    to  take  shape  from  the  first  day  this 


THE   CITY  GUARD   IN   THE  WILDERNESS.  237 

armory  was  occupied.  And  while  time  and  service  have  dem- 
onstrated that  it  might  be  improved  greatly  to  the  convenience 
and  satisfaction  of  the  Guard,  it  has  become  historic,  and  has 
associated  with  it  the  manly  determinations,  experiences  and 
enjoyments  in  patriotic  duty  of  a  whole  generation  of  the  best 
young  men  of  the  city. 

Crowned  with  its  silent  sentinel  ever  on  duty,  and  glorified 
by  the  flag  of  a  free  country,  it  has  stood  all  these  years  as  a 
beacon  to  the  true  and  faithful  citizens,  and  an  emphatic  ad- 
monition to  all  the  lawless. 


238  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  BONDAGE  OF  THE  BONDS. 

The  call  for  "  the  Reserves  ''—The  "  Grand  Rounds  "  and  the  "  Relief  "—The  Mil- 
itary Fair  and  its  Results. 

THE  1st  day  of  February,  1878,  dawned  to  shed  a  glow  of 
sunlight  after  the  persistent  storm  and  rage  of  the  ele- 
ments, under  whose  exhibitions  the  Armory  had  been  dedi- 
cated the  night  before.  Snow  and  sleet  had  covered  the  rag- 
ged deformities  and  fag  ends  of  architecture,  left  by  the  build- 
ers, all  about  the  walls  of  the  new  home  of  the  Guard ;  and  the 
flood  of  light  made  these  very  deformities  cheering. 

The  beauties  of  the  landscape  gave  no  prophecies  of  the  fu- 
ture sacrifice  and  patriotic  effort  yet  needed  in  order  to  the 
highest  success  of  the  Guard.  By  high  devotion  and  perse- 
vering sacrifice,  the  building  had  been  completed  in  a  sub- 
stantial manner.  The  Companies,  which  for  almost  five  months 
had  been  wandering  about  the  streets,  seeking  shelter  for  the 
uniforms  they  had  honored,  and  the  guns  with  which  they 
had  been  entrusted,  took  possession  of  their  new  rooms,  with 
an  exhilaration  and  satisfaction  which  could  hardly  permit  a 
wise  consideration  of  either  present  responsibilities  or  fu- 
ture possibilities.  So  many  burdens  had  been  removed  by 
this  one  triumph,  that  neither  officers  nor  men  could  bring 
themselves  to  consider  the  real  and  increasing  burdens  which 
the  very  success  had  entailed. 

As  the  debris  of  the  building  and  the  detormities  of  the  high 
way  leading  to  it,  were  transformed  by  the  enchantments  of 


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THE   BONDAGE   OF  THE   BONDS.  239 

the  frost  and  sunlight,  which,  for  a  time,  led  us  all  to  forget 
that  here  were  deformities  which  must  be  removed  at  the  ex- 
pense of  unselfish  sacrifices  and  exhaustive  labor;  so  the 
beauty  and  comfort  of  the  drill-rooms  had,  for  a  time,  hid  the 
consideration    of  bonds   and  mortgages   entirely  from  view. 

It  is  -indeed  an  ungrateful  service  to  be  required  to  stand  in 
the  midst  of  the  "  sufficiency  of  the  day  "  to  gaze  into  an 
empty  treasury,  in  order  to  be  suitably  impressed  with  the 
coming  evils  of  a  to-morrow.  The  triumphs,  whose  substantial 
realities  had  been  set  forth  in  convenient  architecture,  and 
made  palpable  by  brick,  mortar  and  stone,  were  no  proper 
preparation  for  the  study  of  the  laws  of  a  hard  economy,  or  of 
the  strict  demands  of  associated  honor  and  honesty. 

For  a  few  months  the  life  of  the  battalion  flowed  on,  filled 
with  energy  and  good  humor.  The  chaos  of  financial  admin- 
istration flowed  on  with  it ;  aggravated  by  the  complexity  and 
cross  lines  of  civil  and  military  administration  which  were 
found  running  between  the  Headquarters  and  the  Company 
rooms.  While  the  whole  condition  was  more  perplexed  by 
the  indefinite  and  necessary  relations  between  the  military 
Headquarters  and  the  legally  responsible  "Board  of  The 
Scranton  City  Guard  Association." 

The  Bonds  of  the  Association  were  out  for  eight  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars,  and  all  its  property  was  covered  by  the 
mortgage  which  included,  as  well,  in  its  relentless  grasp,  the 
moral  character  of  the  military  battalion.  All  aid  that  could 
be  hoped  for  from  the  State  was  already  in  honor  pledged 
to  the  redemption  of  these  bonds,  which  hung  over  the  march 
of  the  Guard,  while  the  accumulating  expenses  of  the  battalion 
could  not  be  postponed.  The  scheme  devised  for  the  conduct 
of  business  and  financial  administration,  looked  beautiful  in 
its  harmony.  Indeed  it  was  unobjectionable  in  theory;  but 
in  its  practical  administration  there  were  revealed  some  of  the 
same  difficulties  which    Gov.  Shelby  found   in  command  of 


240  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

his  Kentucky  gentlemen,  in  the  war  of  1812,  when  he  dis- 
covered, it  was  said,  that  he  had  in  his  command  a  thousand 
more  officers  than  men,  all  told.  A  certain  amount  of  friction, 
in  such  a  case,  would  seem  to  be  inevitable.    ■ 

The  civil  administration  had  its  treasury  and  its  treasurer. 
The  "Board  of  Officers  "made  connection  therewith  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  same  man  to  fill  the  same  office  for  the  Mili- 
tary Board.  "The  Board  of  Officers"  also  had  its  permanent 
committees;  one  on  "Armory,"  one  on  "  Music,"  one  on  the 
"  State  of  the  Guard,"  and  one  on  "  Finance."  Each  of  these 
committees  assumed  to  be  master  of  expenditures  in  its  own 
department,  subject  to  the  endorsement  of  the  Board  itself; 
which  usually  sat  rather  as  a  court  of  inquiry,  and  of  audit,  on 
the  subject  of  accounts,  than  as  a  Board  of  Control;  while  the 
Quartermaster,  who  naturally  supposed  himself  to  be  clothed 
with  some  authority  in  the  matter  of  expenditures  for  the  care 
of  property,  for  which  he  had  receipted  to  the  State,  and  was 
in  bonds,  ran  his  official  business  along,  and  across,  the  lines 
of  the  work  of  all  these  committees.  Bills  were  contracted  by 
whoever  might  be  appointed  for  the  special  business  which 
required  expenditure.  These  bills  were  sent  to  the  treasurer, 
or  presented  directly  to  the  Board  at  its  monthly  meeting,  for 
authorization  and  payment.  The  Board  could  do  nothing  but 
endorse  bills  for  debts  already  incurred;  and  thus  endorsed 
they  were  sent  to  the  treasurer  of  the  "Guard  Association" 
for  payment.  Yet  all  the  while  the  standing  rule  required 
that  the  "  Finance  Committee"  should  have  the  control  of  all 
the  expenditures,  as  well  as  secure  the  funds  to  meet  the 
necessities  of  the  Guard.  Thus  the  civil  and  military  admin- 
istration struggled  together,  in  a  persevering  harmony,  through 
a  howling  wilderness  of  necessary  expenses,  and  military  dig- 
nity. There  were  two  things  which  could  almost  be  counted 
upon,  whichever  Board  or  Committee  might  be  called  upon  to 
act;  to  wit. :  any  number  of  waiting  creditors,  and  an  overdrawn 


THE   BONDAGE  OF  THE   BONDS.  241 

treasury.  The  debts  were  never  incurred  by  those  who  were 
expected  to  see  them  paid;  nor  was  it.  generally  deemed  neces- 
sary to  have  a  limit  defined  to  expenditure,  in  any  wise  speci- 
ally determined  by  the  amount  that  might  be  in  the  treasury 
of  the  Association. 

For  three  years,  and  more,  these  organizations,  the  "  Board 
of  Officers  of  the  City  Guard"  and  the  "Board  of  Directors 
of  the  City  Guard  Association,"  attempted  this  co-operative 
financial  policy;  the  one  struggling  to  run  military  finances 
on  a  civil  basis,  and  the  other,  with  equal  fidelity,  endeavor- 
ing to  run  the  civil  matters  in  military  grooves;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  the  Board  of  Officers  had  its  "  Committee  on 
Finance,"  through  whose  hands  all  bills  had  to  be  passed 
before  the  treasurer  was  permitted  to  pay  them.  To  this 
financial  committee,  then,  with  the  Chaplain  as  standing  chair- 
man, was  assigned  the  general,  and  particular,  task  of  mingling 
this  oil  and  water  together.  This  the  Committee  usually  ac- 
complished by  a  persevering  effort  at  agitation.  It  is  easy 
to  determine  about  how  long  these  elements  could  remain 
mingled  after  each  shaking  of  the  vessel  which  contained 
them. 

The  burden  of  running  successfully  the  finances  of  the 
Guard  was  greatly  increased  by  the  lack  of  experience,  and  by 
the  fact  that  so  much  was  needed  which  could  not  be  foreseen. 
The  Companies,  as  soon  as  they  entered  their  rooms  at  the 
Armory  found,  that  in  addition  to  their  monthly  assessments  for 
fuel,  light,  and  contingencies  of  the  battalion,  they  had  to  fur- 
nish, and  fit  up,  these  rooms  for  their  own  use.  A  large  out- 
lay, in  order  to  make  the  room  suitable  for  their  abiding,  had 
immediately  to  be  made.  Then  Music  had  to  be  provided,  to 
keep  up  the  best  spirit  of  the  organization,  and  to  assist  the 
Companies  in  the  entertainments,  which  came  to  be  a  necessity; 
in  order  to  keep  their  treasuries  from  becoming  bankrupt 
This  implied  the  organization  of  a  "  Military  Band,"  which  also 
16 


242  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

carried  with  it  the  expenses  of  a  salaried  leader,  and  an  indefi- 
nite outlay  for  musical  instruments. 

As  soon,  too,  as  "The  Rifle  Range"  was  opened,  the  ex- 
penses of  it  fell  upon  the  Companies  ;  because  the  State  appro- 
priations could  not  be  hoped  for,  as  sufficiently  generous  to 
allow  the  practice  necessary  to  make  qualified  marksmen,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  capture  of  prizes.  The  expenses  of  the  rifle 
range,  with  those  of  the  music,  were  burdens  enough  for  the 
young  men,  who  were  giving  their  time  to  the  service.  But 
these  matters  were  considered  as  mere  extras,  or  luxuries,  for 
which  all  were  willing  to  pay  a  reasonable  price.  Then  when 
the  Regiment  was  organized,  and  it  was  determined  to  place 
it  in  camp  for  a  week  of  instruction,  new  interests  appeared 
which  doubled  immediately  the  financial  burdens.  Each  Com- 
pany must  have  its  Commissary,  its  Kitchen  and  Dining  Tent, 
with  its  full  set  of  dishes,  and  cooking  utensils.  Tents  for  the 
men  could  be  borrowed  from  the  State;  but  those  for  the 
officers  of  field,  staff  and  line,  with  those  necessary  for  Hos- 
pital and  Commissary's  Stores  had  to  be  provided  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Regiment.  Thus  the  outlay  for  the  week's  liv- 
ing, which  was  a  little  less  than  fifty  cents  each  day,  on  the 
first  encampment  was  more  than  doubled,  by  the  provisions 
necessary  to  be  made  in  order  to  render  the  camp  life  endur- 
able. 

Yet  all  these  burdens  were  bravely  and  generously  borne, 
by  both  officers  and  men,  through  the  first  and  second  year. 

But  it  was  more  than  discouraging,  in  the  midst  of  such 
effort  and  outlay,  to  be  perpetually  compelled  to  face  the 
$8,500  Bonds,  whose  interest  constantly  grew,  even  while  the 
men  slept,  as  fast  as  when  they  were  awake  and  at  work.  The 
whole  appropriation  of  the  State  to  meet  armory  expenses  had 
stood  pledged  to  meet  the  demands  of  these  bonds,  and  the 
interest  upon  them,  whatever  that  appropriation  might  be. 

For  two  years  after  the  Strike,  the  prostration  of  business 


THE  BONDAGE  OF   THE   BONDS.  243 

had  prevented  any  hope  of  being  able  to  obtain  sufficient  help 
in  the  community  to  remove  the  debt.  The  business  men  of 
the  city  had  always  treated  the  Guard  generously  ;  and  small 
amounts,  to  meet  contingencies,  could  be  raised  at  any  time. 

But  for  two  years  these  burdens  had  to  be  borne  by  the 
very  men  who  were  the  least  able  to  bear  them  ;  and  there  was 
along  with  it  all  a  growing  sense  of  injustice  involved.  The 
members  of  the  Guard  willingly  gave  their  time,  and  services, 
for  the  public  good,  but  they  felt  that  it  was  unjust  to  require 
them  to  tax  themselves,  to  meet  the  inevitable  expenses  of  their 
own  voluntary  sacrifices  and  services. 

But,  over  and  above  all  the  burdens  of  the  service,  the 
bondage  of  these  Armory  Bonds,  pressed  with  a  constancy 
which  the  officers,  and  the  responsible  business  men  of  the 
"  City  Guard  Association,"  could  never  shake  off.  Not  a  torn 
uniform  could  be  replaced,  or  a  new  drum-head  be  purchased 
for  the  Band,  without  the  shadows  of  these  maturing  Bonds  and 
their  constantly  growing  interest  intruding  upon  some  one's 
vision.  Every  crack  of  the  wild  rifle,  on  the  range,  suggested 
the  question  to  the  Finance  Committee  whether  the  Bonds  would 
permit  such  waste  of  ammunition — a  waste  undoubtedly  neces- 
sary in  order  to  the  successful  education  of  marksmen.  Neces- 
sary improvements  in  the  armory  itself,  too,  were  absolutely 
impossible.  Thus  it  became  perfectly  evident  to  the  u  Guard 
Association,"  to  the  "  Board  of  Officers  "  and  to  its  "  Finance 
Committee,"  watching  over  the  interests  of  both,  that,  by  such 
bondage,  the  military  organization  must  soon  be  reduced  to  a 
chronic  condition  of  beggary,  and  so  lose  all  real  foot-hold 
on  the  path  to  military  glory. 

These  burdens  accumulated  and  finally  culminated,  when  a 
special  burden  fell  upon  the  "  Music  Committee."  This  com- 
mittee, set  to  have  charge  of  the  organized  "  Battalion  Band," 
and  its  expenditures,  found  an  increasing  expense  for  which 
they  had  no  means  provided.    Appropriations  and  solicitations 


244  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

had  all  been  exhausted,  and  the  committee  determined  that 
something  should  be  done  to  provide  a  Fund,  by  which  this 
Band  could  be  uniformed,  and  sustained,  without  calling  for 
new  monthly  taxes  from  the  Regiment. 

It  was  determined,  after  long  consideration,  to  make  a  united 
effort  to  strike  for  liberty.  The  Music  Committee  proposed 
to  the  Board  of  Officers  that  a  Military  Fair  should  be  organ- 
ized, and  an  attempt  made  by  one  united  effort  to  pay  the 
debts,  and  place  the  Band  fairly  and  substantially  on  its  feet. 
After  a  full  discussion  the  Officers  of  the  Guard  determined  to 
call  out  all  the  reserves,  male  and  female,  and  see  if  the  Bonds 
could  not  be  captured  and  the  organization  set  free,  and  thus 
the  Band  be  so  established  that  its  music  should  float  around 
the  march  of  the  Guard,  without  the  suggestions  of  taxation 
and  oppression. 

Major  Boies,  and  some  of  his  associates  from  the  Regiment 
visited  the  Grand  Military  Fair,  which  had  been  conducted  by 
the  7th  Regiment,  of  New  York,  by  which  they  had  built  their 
magnificent  armory;  and  these  officers  came  home  fused  with 
the  idea  that  this  was  the  way  to  liberty  in  Scranton.  "A 
Military  Fair,"  to  which  the  whole  world  should  have  a  cor- 
dial invitation — in  which  the  rich  and  poor  might  meet  toge- 
ther on  a  common  platform — a  Fair  toward  which  everybody 
should  be  encouraged  to  contribute,  and  towards  the  success  of 
which  every  good  citizen  should  become  enlisted — a  Fair,  in- 
deed, with  no  capital  to  start  with,  except  an  unquestionable 
patriotism  of  large  proportions,  and  a  facility  of  speech  for  its 
crystallization  and  outflow.  "  A  Military  Fair,"*  it  should  be, 
in  which  the  Scranton  City  Guard,  wrapped  in  the  mantle  of  its 
own  merited  excellence,  should  place  itself  in  a  position  of  re- 
ceptivity, after  it  had  removed  the  obstructions  from  the  high- 
way, and  laid  excellent  walks  across  the  swamps,  leading  to 
the  Armory — a  fair,  in  which  contributors  and  purchasers, 
sowers  of  seed,  and  reapers  of  harvests,  men  of  business  seek- 


THE   BONDAGE  OF  THE  BONDS.  245 

ing  outlets  on  the  line  of  advertisements,  and  men  of  ambition, 
waiting  for  tangible  evidences  of  virtuous  honor  at  other  peo- 
ples' expense,  should  be  all  mingled  together  ;  and  mingled  so 
thoroughly  as  to  lose  all  historic  identity.  In  a  word,  it  must 
be  a  Patriotic  Fair,  which,  by  the  enthusiasm  enkindled  in 
the  Guard  itself,  a  flame  should  arise  with  sufficient  power  to 
determine  and  concentrate  the  currents  of  patriotic  devotion 
from  every  quarter;  and  so  raise  the  wind,  by  which  the 
grievous  Bonds  might  be  blown  away,  and  the  military  Band 
be  furnished  for  its  work. 

About  the  1st  of  January,  1880,  this  thought  began  to  take 
form  in  the  Guard,  and  among  their  friends.  It  at  once  be- 
came the  subject  of  general  interest  and  discussion.  In  a 
short  time  the  attempt  became  a  foregone  conclusion  in  the 
whole  Guard.  In  the  Headquarters  and  Company  Rooms, 
the  subject  was  fully  discussed,  and  from  these  the  boys  took 
the  matter  to  their  friends,  and  it  became  the  theme  of  con- 
versation, and  planning  in  all  the  respectable  homes  of  the 
city.  The  ladies  of  the  city  generally,  and  speedily,  became  in- 
terested, and  gave  every  encouragement  to  the  project.  With 
their  usual  practical  force,  they  pushed  it  forward;  so  that,  in 
less  than  three  weeks  after  the  proposition  was  suggested,  the 
battalion  was  actually  organized,  and  the  Guard's  Reserves 
were  brought  into  the  military  field,  and  the  Military  Fair  be- 
came a  fixed  fact,  whatever  might  be  its  results. 

The  Board  of  Officers,  acting  in  agreement  with  the  Asso- 
ciation Directors,  appointed  a  general  executive  or  Supervisory 
Committee  ;  consisting  of  twenty-five  members  of  the  Guard, 
chosen  without  regard  to  military  rank,  in  general,  yet  includ- 
ing all  the  main  officers  of  the  Guard.  Major  E.  H.  Ripple 
was  appointed  Chairman,  and  Quartermaster  James  Ruthven 
Secretary  of  this  Committee.  This  General  Committee  fully 
represented  both  the  Headquarters  and  the  four  Compa- 
nies of  the  Guard.      With  it  was  also  associated  an  advisory 


246  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

committee,  constituted  of  one  private  from  each  company,  with 
Surgeon  Dunnell,  from  Headquarters,  as  the  chairman.  This 
advisory  committee  was  intended  to  represent,  in  all  exigen- 
cies which  might  arise,  the  wishes  and  judgment  of  the  Board 
of  Officers,  upon  the  one  side,  and  those  of  the  four  Companies 
on  the  other.  This  general  supervisory  committee  proceeded 
at  one  to  crystalize  the  thoughts,  and  unify  the  plans,  of  the 
Guard  for  action. 

They  elected  the  Hon.  Robert  H.  McKune,  "  General  Man- 
ager" of  the  Fair,and  James  Ruthven  General  Treasurer.  They 
also  appointed  seven  Special  Committees,  to  have  charge  of  as 
many  divisions  of  service,  under  direction  of  Headquarters. 
These  committees  were  as  follows:  I.  On"  Booths,"  which 
should  determine  and  appoint  the  spaces  in  the  armory  to  each 
Company  and  to  Headquarters;  2.  A  committee  on  "Adver- 
tising and  Printing,"  to  whom  that  whole  subject  was  referred; 
3.  A  committee  on  "  Decorations,"  whose  business  it  was  to 
have  charge  of  the  glorification  of  the  Armory,  in  preparation 
for  the  grand  lair;  4.  a  "Ladies'  Headquarters  Committee," 
which  consisted  of  twelve  ladies,  who  were  the  wives  of  the 
officers,  Field  and  Staff,  commissioned  and  non-commissioned, 
who  were  to  have  charge  and  disposition  of  all  goods  at  the 
Headquarters  Booth.  The  position  of  these  ladies  on  the  com- 
mittee was  in  the  order  of  the  rank  of  their  husbands,  Mrs. 
Col.  Boies  being  at  the  head;  5.  a  "Committee  upon  Exhibi- 
tion," having  charge  of  Syrian,  Chinese,  and  local  curiosities, 
and  works  of  art;  making  a  "Loan  Department,"  with  a 
special  sale  of  Japanese  goods.  At  the  head  of  this  commit- 
tee was  placed  Mrs.  Isaac  L.  Post,  through  whose  efforts  es- 
pecially the  department  was  established.  With  her  were  as- 
sociated nine  other  ladies  of  Scranton,  who  devoted  their  serv- 
ices to  the  effort  to  make  this  exhibition  worthy  of  the  success 
which  it  attained;  6.  was  a  "  Refreshment  Committee,"  with 
Mrs.  J.  Curtis  Piatt  at  its  head.     This  committee  of  fifty-six 


THE   BONDAGE  OF  THE   BONDS.  247 

ladies,  all  resident  in  the  city,  and  all  of  them  more  or  less 
directly  connected  with  the  Guard;  thirty-two  of  them  were 
matrons,  and  twenty-four  were  maidens.  This  committee  took 
upon  itself  the  whole  work  of  furnishing  daily  refreshments 
for  all  that  should  come,  at  a  reasonable  price.  Their  minis- 
tration and  success  were  above  the  highest  praise.  7.  It  was 
determined  to  issue  a  daily  paper  as  long  as  the  fair  should  be 
open,  both  as  an  advertising  sheet  and  as  a  campaign  paper, 
to  awaken,  and  direct,  the  patriotic  interest  to  the  special  ends 
towards  which  all  energies  should  be  directed.  Messrs.  L.  M. 
Horton  and  W.  A.  May  were  appointed  to  take  charge  of  this 
paper,  which  was  named  the  Cartridge  Box  ;  and  a  committee 
of  one  member  from  each  company,  was  appointed  to  act  as 
reporters  thereto. 

These  were  all  the  Committees  which  were  appointed  by  the 
general  Executive  Body.  Appeal  was  then  made  to  the  Com- 
panies to  take  up  the  work  in  their  company  associations  ;  and 
in  order  to  secure  a  healthful  and  honorable  competition,  a 
money  prize  of  $50  was  offered  to  the  Company  which  should 
turn  into  the  treasury  of  the  Guard  Association,  the  largest 
amount  of  net  proceeds  when  the  Fair  should  be  over.  The 
four  companies  immediately  took  up  the  work  with  great  en- 
thusiasm. Each  of  them  appointed  an  "  Executive  Committee," 
an  "  Honorary  Committee,"  and  a  "  Ladies'  Executive  Com- 
mittee," and  decorated  all  the  members  of  each  of  these  com- 
mittees with  the  colors  of  the  company  they  served. 

These  Committees  were  constituted  as  follows.  The  first 
was  composed  of  enlisted  members  of  the  company — soldiers 
of  the  rank  file  and  line ;  the  second  of  men  who  had 
been  elected  and  recognized  as  "  honorary  members  "  of  the 
same ;  and  the  third  as  "  Honorary  Lady  members  "  of  these 
companies. 

Thus  the  work  was  organized,  and  the  arrangements  com- 
pleted for  directing  the   whole   Guard   and  concentrating  all 


248  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

the  Reserves,  in  the  struggle   to  break  the  bondage  of  the 
"Armory  Bonds  "  and  set  the  Battalion  free. 

But  it  was  necessary  to  secure  supplies  for  a  military  fair, 
as  well  as  to  dispose  of  them.  Hence  this  whole  force  was 
first  started  upon  the  special  work  of  gathering  supplies,  and 
of  enlisting  workers  throughout  the  valley.  The  highest  wis- 
dom of  this  movement  was  manifested  in  the  early  enlistment  of 
the  ladies  in  the  enterprise.  The  history  of  this  country  de- 
monstrates that  the  mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and  sweethearts 
are  the  real  keepers  of  the  true  patriotism  of  a  free  people. 
Virtuous  manhood  is  never  more  clearly  manifested  in  sacri- 
fices for  the  public  good  than  when  it  yields  to  the  motherly 
and  wifely  persuasions,  which  spring  from  the  unselfish  nature 
of  woman.  The  power  of  any  community  in  public  enterprise 
will  always  be  brought  out  when  the  women  take  hold  of  it 
with  their  patient  determination  and  persevering  hopefulness. 

The  wisdom  of  the  City  Guard  reached  its  highest  develop- 
ment when  it  concluded  to  put  the  whole  matter  of  this 
military  fair  into  the  hands  of  the  women  ;  and  required  all 
members,  and  committees  to  follow  their  lead,  and  obey  their 
orders ;  all  of  which  were  given,  of  course,  from  behind  the 
throne. 

As  soon  as  the  forces  had  been  thus  organized  for  work,  the 
whole  body  was  directed  toward  the  enlistment  of  more  work- 
ers, and  to  the  solicitation  of  contributions.  The  success 
attained  in  both  these  departments  was  marvelous.  In  less 
than  a  week  after  the  beginning  of  the  effort,  the  success  of 
the  Armory  Fair  became  visible  to  the  most  short-sighted  and 
skeptical. 

Two  hundred  and  thirty-four  of  the  best  ladies  of  Scranton 
suffered  themselves  to  be  enrolled  as  "  Patronesses  of  the  Fair," 
and  pledged  their  services  towards  its  success. 

Within  a  few  days  these  Patronesses  in  the  city,  who  might 
have  been  supposed  to  have  been  moved  by  local  considera- 


THE   BONDAGE  OF   THE   BONDS.  249 

tions,  or  to  be  pulled  to  the  front  by  the  cords  that  bound 
them  to  the  boys  in  uniform,  whom  they  had  themselves 
trained  for  the  country,  were  joined  by  almost  as  many  more 
ladies,  whose  personal  and  local  attachments  gave  no  such 
leading.  There  were  fifty-two  of  these  ladies  resident  in  Car- 
bondale,  thirty-seven  inWilkesbarre,  thirty-eight  in  Honesdale, 
thirteen  in  Kingston,  sixteen  in  Pittston,  twelve  in  Dunmore,  and 
fourteen  in  Montrose,  with  smaller  numbers  in  all  the  small 
villages  and  in  the  country  towns  of  the  vicinage.  In  all,  four 
hundred  and  fifty-six  of  the  excellent  and  influential  women, 
in  and  out  of  the  city,  suffered  their  names  to  be  published  as 
Patronesses  of  the  military  fair.  The  battalion  never  knew  a- 
prouder,  or  happier  day  than  when  the  boys  discovered  that 
there  was  such  a  host  of  accomplished,  patriotic  and  sincere 
friends  in  this  Grand  Reserve ! 

Thus,  with  the  organization  completed,  and  this  magnificent 
Reserve  secured,  was  the  work  of  planning  completed,  and 
that  of  solicitation  and  action  began. 

Appeals  now  swept  out  along  the  lines  of  trade  and  busi- 
ness. They  went  all  wrapped  up  in  the  bands  of  manly  friend- 
ship, and  womanly  affection.  They  were  sent  along  the  broad 
highways  of  generosity  and  benevolence,  which  are  the  real 
glory  of  American  trade  and  American  society.  They  were 
hoisted  upon  the  pure  breezes  of  patriotism  and  allowed  to 
fall  anywhere  and  everywhere,  upon  the  conviction  that  they 
would  not  fall  amiss  among  the  people  who  count  no  price  too 
great  for  the  security  of  American  institutions  of  law  and  order. 
They  were  sent,  tied  with  the  cords  of  private  friendship,  and 
blood  relationship,  to  rich  and  poor  alike.  These  appeals 
were  almost  entirely  personal,  and  private.  It  was  the  multi- 
tude, the  perseverance,  and  patriotic  earnestness,  which  spread 
them  so  wide  and  made  them  so  potent.  They  were  suc- 
cessful beyond  Hie  highest  anticipations.  Contributions  to 
the    Fair    poured    in    by   every   mail;   and    by    all    freight 


250  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

and  express  lines.  Business  firms  and  corporations,  mer- 
chants and  grocers,  machinists,  manufacturers  and  me- 
chanics of  all  kinds,  responded  to  the  appeals  of  the  Guard, 
and  of  their  Patronesses,  with  a  promptness  and  generosity 
entirely  unexpected.  Men  and  women  all  over  the  city  seemed 
to  spend  their  time  divided  between  the  work  of  inventing 
and  preparing  their  individual  contributions,  and  of  writing 
letters  to  friends,  and  in  combining  forces  of  friendship,  and 
of  personal  influence,  to  be  brought  to  bear  where  help  might 
be  hoped  for. 

A  grand  Prize  was  purchased  by  the  Headquarters,  and  by 
each  of  the  Companies,  and  these  were  set  up  for  competition, 
in  order  to  give  spice  and  life  to  the  general  enterprise.  A 
few  goods,  secured  at  margins  which  gave  assurance  of  profit, 
were  also  purchased  and  placed  on  sale  ;  but,  aside  from  these, 
the  Fair  was  furnished  by  the  generous  contributions  of  all 
classes  of  men,  women  and  children.  The  way  to  the  Armory 
was  crowded  with  the  material  expressions  of  the  patriotism 
and  friendly  interest  of  the  people  in  and  out  of  the  city. 
Weeks  before  the  time  appointed  for  the  opening  of  the  Fair 
it  became  evident  that  the  Armory  must  be  enlarged  to  at 
least  double  its  capacity  in  order  to  conduct  the  enterprise  to 
a  successful  termination. 

Besides  the  contributions  of  money,  an  immense  amount 
and  variety  of  merchandise  flowed  in  like  the  mountain  streams 
in  a  spring  freshet. 

The  General  Committee  at  once  determined  to  enlarge  the 
space,  rather  than  in  any  wise  check  the  generosity  of  the  peo- 
ple. .  To  supply  the  needed  room,  two  wooden  Annexes  were 
built;  one  on  the  north  side  of  the  Armory,  which  was  seventy 
feet  long  and  sixteen  feet  wide,  with  an  entrance  from  the 
northeast  door  of  the  "Drill  Room."  This  Annex  was  ap- 
pointed for  a  refreshment  room  or  dining  hall,  and  was  placed 
under  the  control  of  that  indefatigable  friend  of  the  Guard, 


THE  BONDAGE  OF   THE   BONDS.  251 

Mrs.  J.  Curtis  Piatt,  and  her  magnificent  company  of  fifty-six 
ladies,  who  proposed  to  run  a  first-class  Hotel  while  the  Fair 
should  continue.  At  the  rear  of  this  dining-room,  and  attached 
to  it,  were  built  a  commodious  kitchen  and  pantry.  Within 
these  extemporized  quarters,  in  which  the  most  difficult  and 
perplexing  work  of  the  enterprise  was  to  be  done,  was  placed 
a  detail  of  conveniences  and  decorations,  in  which  the  people 
of  the  city  at  once  recognized  the  masterly  genius  of  Mrs. 
Piatt;  the  pioneer  manager  of  church  festivals  and  public  en- 
tertainments, throughout  the  history  of  the  city. 

The  second  Annex  was  built  in  front  of  the  Armory,  and  was 
98  feet  long  and  20  feet  wide.  Through  this  Annex  was  made 
the  entrance  to  the  Armory,  and  it  was  divided  so  as  to  con- 
tain, in  addition  to  the  corrals  for  the  live  stock  contributed, 
a  cloak  and  parcel  room  ;  a  gipsy  tent;  and  grocery  store;  also 
a  Guard  Room,  and  a  smoking  room  for  the  convenience  of 
gentlemen,  and  others  who  sometimes  intrude  among  gen- 
tlemen. There  was  an  eight  feet  Hall  running  the  whole  length 
of  this  Annex,  terminating  at  the  entrance  to  the  main  Hall. 
The  whole  was  decorated  like  Fairy-land,  and  filled  with  an 
endless  variety  of  the  stores  of  a  first-class  supply  establish- 
ment. A  third  Annex  was  built  by  Company  D,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Armory,  with  its  door  opening  from  this  Grand 
Hall.  This  building  was  made  to  accommodate  the  overflow 
of  the  enterprise  of  this  enterprising  company.  This  room 
was  28  x  40  feet,  and  in  it  was  placed  a  miniature  Coal-Break- 
er, to  show  to  strangers  the  modes  of  the  special  enterprise 
upon  which  the  industries  of  the  city  were  mainly  established. 
Connected  with  it  also  was  an  excellent  shooting  gallery,  for 
the  development  of  the  military  genius  of  the  boys.  This 
Annex  was  by  Company  D,  placed  in  charge  of  Sergeant 
Samuel  H.  Stevens,  who  conducted  it  with  a  suavity  of  manner 
and  a  skill  of  ingenuity  which  greatly  advanced  the  treasury 
of  his  company. 


252  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Thus  the  preparations  for  the  Military  Fair  were  completed, 
and  the  8th  day  of  April  was  appointed  for  the  opening.  When 
the  day  arrived,  the  whole  city  would  seem  to  have  become 
interested.  The  City  Guard  was  called  out,  and  marched  as 
a  guard  of  honor  to  the  distinguished  strangers  and  civil  offi- 
cers, who  were  invited  to  participate  in  the  opening  ceremo- 
nies. All  the  members  of  the  Battalion  were  required  to  re- 
main in  uniform  during  the  continuance  of  the  Fair. 

The  Hon.  G.  A.  Grow,  once  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, in  the  unavoidable  absence  of  Governor  Hoyt,  and 
General  Hartranft,  was  invited  to  make  the  opening  address. 
With  him  were  associated,  in  the  procession  and  on  the  plat- 
form, the  Hon.  President  Judge  John  Handley;  Additional 
Law  Judge,  Alfred  Hand;  Mayor  T.  V.  Powderly;  County 
Commissioners,  Barrett,  Tierney  and  Gaige,  with  Col.  Boies 
and  the  Field,  Staff  and  Line  officers  of  the  Regiment.  Gen- 
eral Manager  McKune  introduced  Mr.  Grow,  who,  after  a 
short  and  interesting  popular  address,  declared  the  Military 
Fair  "  opened."  The  announcement  was  received  with  a  hearty 
cheer  by  the  Guard  and  their  friends,  who  had  crowded  the  Ar- 
mory; and  immediately  the  work  of  selling  began.  The  deco- 
rations of  the  whole  building  were  faultless,  and  were  simply 
the  expression  of  the  taste  of  the  hundreds  of  ladies  of  the  city, 
who  had  been  enlisted  by  the  different  companies,  and  had 
entered  into  a  generous  competition  to  make  the  fair  a  "thing 
of  beauty"  as  well  as  a  success. 

It  would  be  vain  to  attempt,  either  to  record  the  beauty  and 
excellence  of  the  display,  or  give  an  estimate  of  the  real  value 
and  variety  of  the  goods  which  had  been  gathered.  "  The 
Cartridge  Box?  in  its  opening  salute,  declared  that  there  was 
here  "  merchandise  from  all  climes,"  offered  to  an  apprecia- 
tive public ;  that  "  in  the  bazaars,  graced  by  the  beauty  and 
chivalry  of  the  city  as  their  merchants,"  the  Arctic  circle 
should  hobnob  with  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn,  and  the  gentle 


THE   BONDAGE  OF   THE   BONDS.  253 

Cod  from  New  Foundland's  mist  bank,  'in  mid-sea  sunken,' 
will  be  found  perfumed  by  spices  of  Ceylon  and  Far  Cathay  ; 
that  "Sheffield  razors  would  be  found  in  bivouac  with  Yankee 
sticking  plasters;  where  Sapolio  and  Soap  should  'bury  the 
hatchet'  and  lather  each  other."  Groceries  and  dry  goods  ; 
furniture  and  bric-a-brac  in  endless  variety;  household  sup- 
plies and  outfits  for  offices,  and  for  the  men  that  filled  them, 
were  all  offered  for  a  reasonable  price  by  the  graceful  attend- 
ants, with  an  irresistible  persuasion.  Artists  and  artisans  had 
presented  pictures,  and  specimens  of  their  skill;  books  and 
book-cases,  jewelry  and  jewels  of  first  water,  filled  the  shelves 
and  graced  the  counters.  Indeed  the  patrons  of  the  Fair  of 
every  taste  and  necessity  could  be  accommodated.  The  patriot 
could  purchase,  at  reasonable  price,  in  the  bazaars,  anything, 
from  an  Alderney  calf  and  a  setter  dog  to  an  eye-glass  and  a 
set  of  teeth,  from  a  first-class  dentist. 

Each  company  had  its  Booth  and  its  "  Prize  Booth,"  and 
each  day  had  its  special  prize,  for  which  an  appeal  was  made 
to  the  citizens.  From  this  arrangement  the  different  days 
of  the  great  fair  took  their  names. 

Hence  there  was  the  "Military  Day,"  when  the  military 
companies  of  neighboring  cities  came  by  special  invitation, 
and  were  entertained  at  the  expense  of  the  Guard;  and  the 
day  closed  with  a  competition  by  votes  for  an  officers'  outfit. 
There  was  "Fireman's  Day,"  and  a  day  for  "Railroad  Men," 
a  day  for  "Teachers  and  Children,"  and  then  the  "Head- 
quarters Grand  Prize  Day,"  all  of  which  were  closed  by  the 
special  awards  which  had  been  appointed. 

Generous  good  humor  took  possession  of  all  who  came 
within  the  doors.  Competition,  marked  by  the  most  pleas- 
ant consideration,  stamped  every  transaction. 

For  ten  days  the  whole  community  seemed  to  have  taken 
a  holiday  from  the  cares  of  home  and  business,  and  to  have 
devoted  their  energies  to  the  work  and  enjoyments  of  the 


254  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Fair.  The  Battalion  Band,  under  leadership  of  Professor  H. 
E.  Cogswell,  gave  daily  concerts,  and  furnished  excellent 
music  for  the  march  of  the  reserves.  The  happiest  social  life 
marked  the  whole  body  of  the  people  who  gathered  in  the 
evenings,  or  pressed  into  the  refreshment  rooms,  where 
twenty-five  ladies  were  always  to  be  found  waiting  to  serve. 

"The  Ladies'  Executive  Committee"  worked  with  indefat- 
igable energy  and  perseverance,  and  the  grand  results  told 
with  what  wisdom  and  skill.  The  Company  competition  was 
marked  with  zeal,  kindness,  and  wise  consideration,  and  the 
whole  enterprise  was  carried  through  without  a  ripple  of  dis- 
satisfaction, or  a  complaint  of  unfairness. 

It  would,  indeed,  be  a  pleasant  task  for  the  historian  to 
record  the  work  of  these  "  Ladies'  Committees  ;  "  and  to  make 
special  mention  of  those  members  of  them  who  placed  the 
Guard  under  the  heaviest  obligations.  But  it  would  be  un- 
just, as  well  as  ungallant,  to  select  a  few  out  of  the  hundreds 
of  the  matrons  and  maidens  who  devoted  their  services,  day 
and  night,  to  the  work.  The  record  of  each,  and  all,  has  been 
made  upon  the  heart,  as  well  as  in  the  memory,  of  the  gal- 
lant men  who  constituted  the  City  Guard;  and  all  the  compa- 
nies have  placed  in  their  archives  "honorable  mention"  of 
their  services,  which  no  price  can  reward  and  no  expression 
of  thanks  can  suitably  acknowledge. 

Of  all  the  noble  Women  who  came  with  their  immeasurable 
sun-light  to  the  armory  and  the  Guard  in  the  time  of  their 
darkness,  and  never  gave  it  up  until  a  harvest  was  gathered 
threefold  greater  than  was  asked  for,  we  can  only  say :  "  It 
was  just  like  you."  Ladies !  Chairwomen,  Secretaries,  Treas- 
urers, members  of  Committees,  general  and  special,  and  of 
Companies  A,  B,  C  and  D,  "Patronesses"  and  waiters  at  the 
booths,  at  the  prize-tables,  at  the  ticket-office  and  refreshment 
tables,  all  we  can  say  is :  "  It  was  just  like  you."  You 
proved  yourselves  the  worthy  daughters  of  American  mothers; 


THE   BONDAGE  OF   THE   BONDS.  255 

and  the  "Scranton  City  Guard"  could  not,  ought  not  to  live 
without  you.  Your  unselfish  public  spirit  and  devotion 
proves,  beyond  a  peradventure,  that  this  city  has  an  interest 
and  treasure  worth  the  sacrifice  of  its  best  men  to  conserve 
and  protect. 

On  the  17th  day  of  April,  1880,  the  Fair  closed,  and  the 
Guard  was  left  to  the  grateful  task  of  clearing  away  the  rub- 
bish and  counting  the  proceeds.  The  Companies  and  Com- 
mittees made  their  reports  to  the  General  Committee,  and 
Quartermaster  Ruthven,  who  was  a  genius  in  his  line,  sat 
down  to  the  work  of  his  figures.  In  a  very  few  days  he  pre- 
sented a  balance  sheet,  which  gave  to  the  Guard  the  patent  of 
its  liberty  from  the  "  Armory  Bonds,"  and  placed  in  the  trea- 
sury of  the  association  an  ample  fund  for  future  necessities. 
The  summary  of  the  results  of  the  Fair,  as  he  reported  them 
was  this : 

Total  Receipts  of  the  Armory  Fair $31,134  29 

Total  Expenses  as  per  Vouchers 5,083  46 

Balance  net  proceeds  paid   into  the   Treasury  of  the 

Scranton  City  Guard  Association $26,050  73 

The  net  proceeds  paid  in  by  the  companies  under  offer  of 
reward  were  as  follows  : 

Company  A 4,529  59 

Company  B 4,458  75 

Company  C 5,204  73 

Company  D 5,553  04 

Net  proceeds  returned  by  the  Headquarters  was  $6,304.72. 

To  Company  D  was  paid  the  $50.00  cash  premium ;  the 
fairly  won  prize  that  was  offered  to  the  company  that  should 
turn  in  the  greatest  amount  of  net  proceeds  to  the  Association 
Treasurer. 

The  Cartridge  Box  was  indeed  ably  conducted  and  accomp- 


256  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Iished  efficiently  the  end  of  its  appointment.  But  the  people 
were  all  too  busy  to  read  during  the  days  of  its  issue,  and  too 
short-sighted  to  realize  its  future  excellence  as  a  historic  me- 
mento; and  hence  it  proved  the  only  department  that  did  not 
directly  bring  a  revenue  to  the  Guard.  Its  cost  exceeded  its 
paying  subscription,  but  not  its  service  to  the  Fair.  Such  were 
the  announcements  which  Ruthven's  figures  made.  In  them, 
at  once,  was  found  the  light  and  the  joy  of  a  cloudless  day.  It 
required  a  month  to  settle  all  the  accounts  under  the  direction 
of  the  general  executive  committee;  and  on  the  17th  of  May, 
1880,  the  balance  amounting  to  $26,050.83,  was  paid  into  the 
treasury  of  the  Association,  and  on  that  day  the  treasure.-  re- 
ported the  outstanding  bonds  as  $4,500.  These  bonds  were 
ordered  to  be  immediately  redeemed,  and  the  trustees  having 
charge  of  the  mortgage  were  requested  to  cancel  the  same  that 
the  City  Guard  Association  might  be  free. 

This  was  done  a  few  days  afterwards,  and  the  responsible 
men  who  had  been  carrying  the  burdens  enjoyed  an  inexpres- 
sible relief.  The  way  was  at  last  cleared,  and  the  halo  of  im- 
mense possibilities  gathered  over  the  march  of  the  Guard. 
The  benefits  of  the  Fair  could  by  no  means  be  measured  by 
the  funds  gathered,  or  the  relief  from  the  "  bondage  of  the 
Bonds."  The  happy  association  of  the  people,  and  the  good 
feeling  generated  thereby  throughout  the  whole  city,  and  val- 
ley, proved  an  immense  benefit  to  the  whole  community.  It 
not  only  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  Guard  itself,  but  gave  it  a 
place,  and  an  interest,  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  which  no 
other  means  could  have  secured.  The  Military  Fair  not  only 
brought  the  friends  of  law  and  order  to  the  front,  and  enabled 
the  boys  to  come  face  to  face  with  their  own  supporters  ;  but 
it  multiplied  true  friends,  and  wove  bands  of  interest  about  a 
multitude  of  faithful  hearts  that  before  had  felt  no  interest  in 
the  National  Guard.  By  it,  too,  the  city  and  valley  were  shaken 
together  in  a  week  of  social  life,  on  the  basis  of  a  virtuous 
benevolence  and  patriotic  virtue. 


THE   BONDAGE   OF  THE   BONDS.  257 

The  benefits  of  such  an  experience  upon  the  social  and  busi- 
ness life  of  the  city  can  neither  be  fully  traced  nor  adequately 
measured.  The  good  feeling  overflowed  all  city  limits  and 
filled  the  neighboring  cities  and  villages  of  the  coal-fields. 
And  before  its  sweep  the  petty  jealousies  and  narrow  selfish- 
ness, ever  liable  to  exist  between  business  and  social  rivals, 
was  swept  away.  The  people  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  Carbondale 
and  Binghamton  met  in  the  Scranton  Fair  and  became  gener- 
ous rivals  in  the  higher  virtues  of  sacrifice  for  others.  The 
people  of  Scranton  learned  to  know  and  appreciate  their  neigh- 
bors as  never  before;  and  their  social  and  business  horizon  was 
enlarged  and  cleared  of  many  a  cloud,  by  the  Military  Fair 
which  set  the  City  Guard  on  its  feet.  Thus  the  sacrifices  for 
war  brought  to  the  city  the  fruits  of  peace. 


17 


258  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  TRIALS  OF  PROSPERITY. 

Burdens    of  Success — The  Property    secured  and  its    control   Determined — The 
Chaplain — The   Veteran   Organization. 

AS  soon  as  the  Armory  bonds  had  been  cancelled  and  the 
rubbish  left  by  the  Fair  had  been  cleared  away,  new 
questions  and  complications  began  to  arise  among  the  mem- 
bers and  officers  of  the  Guard.  These  questions  sprang 
legitimately  from  the  grand  success  for  which  all  had  labored. 
Prosperity  as  well  as  adversity  brings  its  trials  and  responsi- 
bilities, and  they  may  be  even  more  perplexing.-  After  two 
years  of  struggle  and  sacrifice,  always  marching  through  the 
tortuous  defiles  of  poverty,  the  Guard  had  suddenly  reached 
a  plain  of  wealth  that  opened  a  limitless  horizon  to  the  eye 
that  had  not  become  adjusted  to  it.  Officers  and  men  alike 
began  to  consider  their  deprivations  in  the  past  service  in 
presence  of  an  overflowing  treasury  ;  and  the  necessities  of 
Companies  and  Committees,  and  especially  of  the  officers,  who 
had  been  given  the  task  of  training  the  Guard  for  service, 
without  any  of  the  conveniences  by  which  the  work  could  be 
made  easy,  seemed  to  multiply  as  they  were  considered.  The 
uniforms,  after  two  years  wear,  seemed  hardly  respectable 
enough  for  the  conspicuous  positions  which  had  been  won  for 
the  Guard  by  sacrifice  and  service.  Indeed,  a  vast  number 
of  very  proper  suggestions  were  brought  to  light  by  the  sur- 
plus in  the  treasury.     The  consequence  was  that  for  some 


THE  TRIALS   OF   PROSPERITY.  259 

months  the  demand  for  repairs,  conveniences,  and  improve- 
ments, poured  in  upon  the  Board  in  a  constant  stream.  It 
became  evident  to  careful  men,  that  unless  the  funds  could  be 
permanently  invested  in  some  way  they  must  soon  be  ex- 
hausted, if  not  wasted.  Various  schemes  were  suggested  from 
different  quarters  as  to  the  disposition  that  should  be  made 
of  the  balance.  One  of  these  was  that  it  should  be  divided 
into  five  equal  parts  and  distributed  to  the  Headquarters  and 
to  the  four  Companies;* thus  putting  upon  each  of  these  the 
responsibility  of  its  own  expenses  and  maintenance  for  an  in- 
definite period.  The  Colonel,  feeling  the  inconvenience  and 
the  inadequacy  of  the  drill-room  for  the  movements  of  the 
battalion,  proposed  to  purchase  an  adjoining  lot  and  spend  the 
balance  in  hand  for  the  enlargement,  and  furnishing  of  the 
Armory.  The  Directors  of  the  Guard  Association,  after  lis- 
tening to,  and  carefully  considering  all  the  different  sugges- 
tions brought  to  them,  determined  to  call  a  meeting  of  the 
Stockholders  on  the  24th  of  June,  1880,  and  submit  the  whole 
case  for  instruction. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  enterprise  there  had  been  a  dif- 
ference of  views  as  to  the  ultimate  ownership  and  control  of 
the  Armory  in  the  Association.  One  party  expressed  the 
conviction  that  it  should  be  held  simply  for  the  use  of  the 
military  Guard,  and  under  the  control  of  the  officers,  who 
might,  at  any  time,  be  in  command  of  the  four  companies  ;  and 
hence  that  it  should  be  deeded  to  certain  reliable  citizens  in 
trust,  for  the  use  of  the  military  command  entitled  "  The 
Scranton  City  Guard." 

Another  class  as  earnestly  contended  that  such  a  disposi- 
tion of  the  property  would  be  unjust  to  the  young  men  by 
whose  energy  and  sacrifice  the  property  had  been  secured,  and 
the  Armory  freed  from  debt.  They  had  given  their  time, 
pledged  all  pay  received  from  the  State  for  their  services,  and 
then  cheerfully  submitted  to  all  the  assessments  necessary 


260  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

to  run  the  battalion  for  three  years,  in  order  to  build  this 
Armory.  They  had  done  this  upon  the  assurance  that  they 
should  own  the  whole,  as  soon  as  it  could  be  redeemed  from 
its  bondage  of  debt.  Hence  the  Association  had  been  organ- 
ized as  a  Stock  company;  whose  capital  stock  should  consist 
of  three  hundred  and  sixty  shares,  at  sixty  dollars  a  share, 
which  could  only  be  increased  or  diminished  by  consent  of 
stockholders  holding  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  stock.  This 
stock  had  been  issued  only  in  certificates  of  one-fifth  of  a 
share  to  each  member  of  the  Guard,  at  the  end  of  each  year's 
service.  The  only  exception  to  this  rule  was  the  issue  of 
such  one-fifth  of  a  share  to  all  who  had  served  nine  months 
on  the  14th  of  August,  1878  ;  these  nine  months  in  the  begin- 
ning being  considered  equivalent  to  a  year  of  ordinary  service. 
Thus  it  was  intended  that  each  special  certificate  should  repre- 
sent one  year's  faithful  service,  in  the  National  Guard.  Five 
years'  service  it  had  been  intended  should  entitle  the  soldier 
to  one  full  share,  which  carried  with  it  five  votes  in  all  acts  of 
the  Guard  Association.  This  would  necessarily  place  the 
stock,  and  hence  the  control  of  the  Association,  with  all  its 
property  ultimately,  in  the  hands  of  the  men  who  were 
veterans  ;    no  longer  in  the  active  service. 

This  plan  implied  the  organization  of  a  "Veteran  Associa- 
tion." This  had  been  so  clearly  the  intention  that  it  had 
been  agreed  and  placed  in  the  Articles  of  Association  ;  that 
any  Company,  or  member  of  the  Guard,  that  refused  to  allow 
the  proportion  of  the  State  annual  appropriation  to  be  used 
by  the  association  to  pay  for  this  property,  should  be  permit- 
ted to  have  no  share  in  the  stock.  This  plan  early  manifested 
a  weakness,  in  the  fact  that  many  who  served  the  first  and 
second  year  left  the  Guard  and  the  city,  taking  their  claims 
with  them.  The  stock  was  liable  to  become  so  greatly  scat- 
tered, that  it  would  soon  become  impossible  to  have  a  fair 
representation  of  stock  at  any  business  meeting  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. 


THE  TRIALS   OF  PROSPERITY.  261 

Along  with  the  many  issues  which  arose  upon  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  Bonds,  and  the  covering  of  the  surplus  left  into  the 
treasury,  this  question  of  the  ultimate  ownership  and  control 
of  the  property  again  arose.  The  directors  of  the  Association 
were  divided  in  their  views,  as  were  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Guard.  Therefore  the  Board  issued  the  call  for  a  meeting  of 
the  stockholders  on  the  24th  of  June  ;  one  week  after  the 
proceeds  of  the  Military  Fair  were  paid  into  the  treasury. 
The  object  of  this  meeting  was  stated  in  the  call,  and  was 
expressed  in  the  two  questions  :  "  First.  What  arrangements 
shall  be  made  for  the  permanent  control  of  the  property 
of  the  association?"  "Second.  What  disposition  shall  be 
made  of  the  balance  of  the  Armory  Fair  fund  remaining,  after 
the  payment  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  association?" 

The  Board  of  Managers  at  that  time  consisted  of  the  fol- 
lowing members:  Edward  B.  Sturges,  Company  D,  President; 
Louis  A.  Watres,  Company  C.  Treasurer;  George  B.  Foster, 
Company  A.  Secretary;  William  Kellow,  Company  B.,  and 
S.  C.  Logan,  Chaplain.  In  order  to  secure  definite  thought, 
discussion  and  action,  this  Board  prepared  and  submitted  two 
plans,  in  answer  to  each  of  these  questions.  First.  As  to 
permanent  control  ;  they  suggested  that  the  plan  of  issuing 
the  stock  in  one-fifth  shares  be  continued  until  the  expiration 
of  five  years  from  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  City 
Guard,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  ownership  of  the  property 
would  be  established  in  the  holders  of  the  stock  certificates ; 
subject  only  to  the  restriction  that  the  property  must  always 
be  used  to  maintain  the  military  organization.  This  plan 
contemplated,  as  essential  to  its  ultimate  advantage,  the  for- 
mation of  a  "Veteran  Association"  which  should  in  due  time 
take  the  place  of  the  "Scranton  City  Guard  Association,"  and 
so  lead  to  its  dissolution.  This  plan  originated  with  and  was 
advocated  by  the  Chaplain. 

The  second  plan  suggested  was  to  repay  to  the  four  Com- 


262  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

panies  the  eight  hundred  dollars  paid  by  each  of  them  toward 
the  erection  of  the  Armory;  to  call  in  and  cancel  all  the  Stock, 
and  convey  the  property  to  permanent  Trustees,  who  should 
always  hold  it  as  an  Armory  for  the  City  Guard.  This  plan, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  would  require  the  immediate  dis- 
solution of  the  "Guard  Association."  and  the  surrender  of  its 
charter.  This  plan,  in  its  general  features,  was  advocated  by 
the  Colonel,  and  by  various  officers  of  the  battalion,  who  were 
recognized  as  excellent  business  men. 

The  Board  also  presented  two  plans  for  the  disposition  of 
the  surplus  funds,  after  the  debts  should  be  paid.  This  sur- 
plus amounted  to  about  seventeen  thousand  dollars. 

The  plans  proposed  were  as  follows : 

First:  appropriate  five  hundred  dollars  to  the  "Rifle  Asso- 
ciation "  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  rifle  range. 

Second:  Pay  the  debts  of  the  "Battalion  Band;"  then 
supposed  to  be  about  eleven  hundred  dollars ;  and  purchase 
for  the  members  of  the  Band  new  uniforms,  taking  from  them 
leases,  both  for  the  instruments  and  clothing,  and  demanding 
a  percentage  of  their  cash  earnings,  with  which  to  create  a 
permanent  Band  Fund. 

Third:  To  expend  so  much  as  might  be  necessary  for  im- 
provements on  the  Armory ;  not  exceeding  fifteen  hundred 
dollars ;  and  defining  specifically  what  these  improvements 
should  be. 

Fourth  :  Invest  the  balance,  after  these  outlays,  in  some  safe 
interest-bearing  securities,  as  a  fund  to  furnish  the  Companies 
with  a  fixed  annual  income.     This  was  the  first  plan. 

The  second  plan  was  : 

First:  To  devote  seven  thousand  dollars,  or  so  much  as 
might  be  needed,  for  the  improvements  in  the  Armory  in  spe- 
cific particulars,  according  to  careful  estimates. 

Second :  To  purchase  an  additional  lot  on  each  side  of  the 
armory,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars. 


THE   TRIALS  OF   PROSPERITY.  263 

Third:  An  appropriation  to  the  Rifle  Range  and  Band;  to 
be  paid  as  in  the  first  plan,  and  the  balance  to  be  expended 
in  furniture,  additions  to  uniforms,  and  necessary  expenses  of 
the  Guard.  These  were  the  two  general  plans  for  investing 
the  surplus. 

At  this  called  meeting  of  the  stockholders  all  these  plans  were 
taken  up  and  discussed  with  kindness  and  earnestness,  after 
which,  by  a  very  large  majority,  it  was  determined  as  follows, 
to  wit: 

First :  To  continue  the  issue  of  the  Stock,  under  the  rule 
already  adopted ;  and  so  to  continue  the  Association  with  a 
view  to  the  organization  of  a  Veteran  Association. 

Second  :  To  appropriate  four  hundred  dollars  to  each  of  the 
Companies,  and  to  the  Headquarters,  to  meet  special  ex- 
penses. 

Tlrird:  To  appropriate  five  hundred  dollars  to  the  Rifle  As- 
sociation ;  and  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  band  and  drum  corps  ; 
and  to  uniform  the  members  in  accordance  with  the  plans 
submitted. 

Fourth:  In  regard  to  Armory  improvements,  and  the  invest- 
ment of  remaining  funds;  the  Board  of  Directors  was  author- 
ized to  act  according  to  its  best  judgment. 

Thus  the  way  of  the  Directors  of  the  Association  was 
marked  out  upon  the  responsibility  of  the  stockholders,  and 
the  general  financial  policy  of  the  Guard  was  determined. 

The  Board  proceeded  at  once  to  carry  out  the  specific  ac- 
tion taken.  They  paid  over  to  the  Rifle  Association  five  hun- 
dred dollars,  which  was  chiefly  applied  to  meet  expenses 
already  incurred.  They  also  placed  to  the  credit  of  each 
Company,  and  to  the  Pieadquarters  four  hundred  each,  mak- 
ing, in  all,  two  thousand  dollars.  This  was  indeed  a  relief, 
evidently  just  and  opportune,  to  every  department  of  the 
Guard,  which  gave  new  courage  to  both  officers  and  men. 
The  order,  however,  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  band,  without  first 


264  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

determining  definitely  what  the  indebtedness  really  was, 
caused  much  perplexity,  both  to  the  Finance  Committee  and 
to  the  Board  itself.  After  careful  investigation,  these  debts 
were  found  to  be  almost  one-half  greater  than  had  been  sup- 
posed by  the  excellent  committee  having  the  subject  of  music 
in  charge.  It  was,  however,  determined  to  fulfill  every  obli- 
gation which  honor  demanded,  at  any  cost.  The  treas- 
urer was  therefore  ordered  to  honor  the  bills  as  fast  as  they 
should  be  presented,  properly  endorsed.  This  was  done  until 
two  thousand  and  eighty-seven  dollars  and  twelve  cents 
were  expended  on  behalf  of  the  sweet  strains,  to  which  the 
battalion  had  kept  step  for  a  year  and  a  half.  The  arrange- 
ments upon  which  this  excellent  Band,  under  Prof.  Cogswell, 
were  now  placed  was  supposed  to  be  such,  that  the  Guard 
would  be  relieved  from  any  further  expense.  It  was  also  sup- 
posed, by  sanguine  individuals,  that  in  due  time  the  per  cent, 
of  its  earnings,  which  were  to  be  returned  to  the  Guard,  might 
repay  a  part  of  the  cost  of  its  outfit.  This,  however,  was 
found  to  be  a  mistake.  After  two  years  of  faithful  effort  the 
Board  of  Officers  scld  to  the  leader  the  whole  outfit  for  the 
sum  of  five  hundred  dollars;  and  then  had  the  historic  Battal- 
ion band  mustered  out  of  service.  The  excellence  of  this 
band,  and  its  faithful  services,  were  above  criticism ;  and  its  re- 
lations to  the  Guard  were  always  pleasant.  But  the  difficulty 
of  keeping  it  up  by  musicians  who  served  without  pay ;  and 
the  fact  that  the  Regiment  was  not  allowed  to  have  it  at  the 
annual  encampment,  where  only  one  band  to  a  brigade  was 
permitted,  made  it  a  luxury  too  expensive  for  the  finances  of 
the  City  Guard.  Hence  it  melted  away  like  its  own  sweet 
strains,  leaving  the  most  pleasant  recollections  of  its  music  in- 
woven with  the  history  of  the  early  struggles  of  the  battalion. 
The  effects  of  a  full  treasury,  after  such  struggles  along  the 
narrow  ways  of  economy,  upon  the  Guard,  could  not  be 
neutralized  at  once  by  any  plans  or  resolutions.     They  soon 


THE  TRIALS   OF   PROSPERITY.  265 

began  to  be  felt  all  along  the  line.  The  demands  for  im- 
provement in  the  building,  and  for  the  multiplication  of  ex- 
penditures on  conveniences  for  the  soldiers ;  for  new  uniforms, 
and  for  music  and  musical  instruments,  continued  to  pour  in 
like  a  flood.  The  instructions  of  the  stockholders  to  the 
managers,  which  were  promptly  carried  out,  only  seemed  to 
open  wider  the  gates  of  expenditure  and  demand.  The  doors 
of  discretion,  opened  by  the  stockholders,  were  crowded  with 
men  who  saw  great  results  from  small  outlays  of  money,  and 
small  bills  multiplied.  The  Finance  Committee  stood  bewil- 
dered, and  grumbled  out  all  necessary  protests.  The  Board 
of  Officers  spent  whole  evenings  sitting  in  judgment  upon  an 
apparently  endless  procession  of  bills  and  accounts.  Fears 
were  soon  created,  that  between  plumbers,  musicians,  clothiers 
and  furniture  dealers,  the  association  was  in  danger  of  a  sec- 
ond bankruptcy.  It  was  evident  that  the  Guard  would  soon 
find  itself  without  an  income  to  meet  the  unavoidable  and  pro- 
per expenses. 

The  Directors  of  the  association,  in  the  midst  of  this  anx- 
iety, reached  a  conclusion ;  and  determined  immediately  to 
act.  The  Armory  had  indeed  been  found  to  be  not  sufficiently 
large  for  the  convenient  uses  of  the  Guard,  and  it  was  sup- 
posed the  time  might  soon  come  when  a  whole  regiment 
could  be  enlisted  in  the  city.  If  so,  an  Armory  double  the 
size  of  the  present  would  be  a  necessity,  and  could  be  easily 
built.  Real  estate  was  on  the  rise,  and  was  selling  rapidly  in 
the  city.  It  was  evident  that  soon  the  lots  adjoining  the 
armory  would  pass  out  of  the  market.  It  was  therefore  de- 
termined to  purchase  two  lots,  adjoining  the  Armory  lots  on 
the  south  ;  as  the  extension  of  the  Armory  to  double  its  pre- 
sent size  could  then  be  made  at  the  smallest  cost.  But  it  was 
found  that  two  lots  on  the  same  side  of  the  Armory  could  not 
be  secured.  Hence  it  was  determined  to  purchase  one  on  each 
side,  and  place  upon  these  tenements  for  rent,  until  such  time 


266  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

as  the  building  of  a  new  Armory  might  be  demanded.  It  was 
believed  that  the  rental  of  these  tenements,  with  the  amounts 
appropriated  by  the  State,  would  meet  completely  the  neces- 
sary expenses  for  maintaining  the  military  organization. 

On  the  23rd  of  February,  1881,  these  lots  were  purchased 
at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars,  which  was  one-fourth  of 
advance  upon  the  price  of  two  years  previous  on  these  same 
lots.  Immediately  following  this  purchase  the  association 
ordered  the  building  of  a  double  house  upon  the  front  of 
each  of  these  lots,  and  one  upon  the  rear  of  one  of  them,  after 
plans  secured  from  Architect  Amsden.  These  houses  were 
built  during  the  summer  of  1 881  under  the  superintendence 
of  Captain  Henry  A.  Coursen.  These  houses  cost,  when 
built  about  the  close  of  the  year,  twenty-six  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  dollars  and  eighty  cents.  Thus  the  investment 
was  made  by  the  directors  of  the  City  Guard  Association  of 
seventy-six  hundred  and  thirty-eight  dollars  and  eighty  cents. 
The  houses  were  occupied  under  leases  at  a  paying  rent  as 
soon  as  built,  and  thus  far  have  not  failed  to  bring  a  fair  rev- 
enue for  the  support  of  the  City  Guard. 

The  haste  with  which  the  Armory  was  built  and  the  want  of 
capital  had  given  rise  to  many  defects  in  the  structure,  which 
cost  the  association  dearly  when  the  time  for  remedying 
them  came.  A  small  cellar  had  been  excavated,  and  the  tim- 
bers and  floor  were  laid  close  to  the  ground,  where  there  was 
great  moisture  held  in  the  clay,  and  as  a  consequence  these 
timbers  soon  gave  evidence  of  decay.  The  floor  was  hastily 
and  roughly  laid,  under  the  conviction  that  the  tramp  of  the 
battalion  would  soon  smooth  it  sufficiently;  but,  after  two 
years  of  use,  it  began  to  show  weakness  under  the  tread  ot 
the  drilling  companies.  It  was  evident  that  something  must 
be  done  for  the  repair  and  preservation  of  the  armory  itself. 

In  the  fall  of  1882  an  offer  was  made  to  the  Directors  for 
the  lease  of  the  drill-room,  to  be  used  as  a  skating-rink  by  a 


THE  TRIALS  OF  PROSPERITY.  267 

company  at  this  time  seeking  to  fuse  the  society  of  the  city 
with  this  ephemeral  craze.  As  such  use  might  be  made  of 
the  Armory  without  interfering  with  the  drill  of  the  Guard,  it 
was  leased,  under  proper  restrictions ;  and  from  the  income 
from  this  rental  an  excellent  hard-wood  floor  was  placed  on 
top  of  the  one  which  was  already  in  use,  at  a  cost  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  But  when  the  spring  opened  in  1883,  it  was 
discovered  that  the  repair  of  the  timbers  under  this  double 
floor  could  no  longer  be  postponed  with  safety.  In  the  month 
of  May  a  nine-foot  cellar  was  excavated  under  the  whole 
building ;  strong  pillars  were  built  to  support  new  timbers, 
which  were  substituted  throughout,  and  the  floor  lifted  up 
and  levelled.  All  this  was  done  at  a  cost  of  $2,676.87.  This 
work  of  excavation  and  repair  was  done  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Herman  Osthaus,  a  member  of  Company  A,  who 
at  that  time  was  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Guard  Association. 

Thus,  in  six  years  after  the  muster  and  equipment  of  the 
City  Guard,  the  organization  possessed  a  property,  free  of 
incumbrance,  which,  without  including  the  various  minor  im- 
provements and  repairs,  had  cost  twenty-two  thousand,  eight 
hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  and  sixty-seven  cents.  The  lots 
upon  which  the  buildings  stand  are  now  valued  above  this 
cost ;  and  they  are  so  situated  in  the  city  that  it  is  hardly 
probable  their  price  will  ever  fall  below  their  present  value  in 
the  market.  The  prospect  is  that  they  will  be  worth  perhaps 
double  that  amount  within  the  next  ten  years. 

The  success  of  the  movement  to  place  the  Guard  upon  an 
assured  and  permanent  footing  was  due,  first  of  all,  to  the 
patriotic  and  self-sacrificing  devotion  of  the  young  men — the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  battalion  itself.  They  gave  their 
services  and  their  money,  with  an  equal  cheerfulness,  and  with 
a  spirit  of  sacrifice  which  continued  without  abatement  or 
weakening.     For  full  five  years  they  had  borne  the  burden 


268  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

with  a  unity  of  purpose  which  assured  success.  The  roll  of 
the  Guard  was  a  roll  of  honor.  Throughout  the  time  of  the 
service  necessary  to  complete  this  work,  by  which  the  City 
Guard  was  established,  its  character  and  its  historic  position 
in  the  young  city  were  determined.  With  these  excellent 
young  men,  in  the  uniform  and  service  of  the  State,  must 
ever  be  associated  all  the  best  people  of  the  city,  of  every 
calling  and  social  position,  who  gave  their  time  and  money 
without  stint  to  sustain  the  four  military  companies,  and  who, 
almost  without  exception,  sustained  the  officers  in  their  efforts' 
to  develop  the  efficiency,  and  establish  the  character,  of  the 
Guard  and  lead  it  to  the  front  in  the  service  of  the  State. 

It  may  not  be  deemed  unjust  or  inappropriate  by  the  reader, 
who,  twenty  years  from  now,  may  be  interested  in  the  local  his- 
tory of  the  times  considered,  to  close  this  chapter  upon  the 
origin  and  history  of  the  Armory — that  landmark  in  the  city's 
defense — with  the  record  of  the  military  order  which  was 
published  by  the  Commander  of  the  Guard,  granting  a  six 
months'  leave  of  absence  to  the  Chaplain,  who,  on  account  of 
impaired  health,  was  about  leaving  for  six  months'  travel  in 
the  far  East.     This  order  was  as  follows : 

Headquarters  13TH  Regiment,  3D  Brigade,  N.  G.  P., 

Scranton,  Pa.,  December  23,  1878. 
General  Order  No.  10. 

I.  The  Companies  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard  and  all  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  13th  Regiment  in  this  City,  will  assemble  in  uniform, 
without  Arms,  at  the  Armory,  at  2.45,  p.m.,  on  Sunday,  December  29th, 
for  divine  worship,  which  will  be  held  at  3  o'clock.  The  Chaplain, 
Rev.  Dr.  Logan,  will  preach  a  sermon  to  the  command  in  anticipation 
of  his  immediate  departure  for  Europe. 

II.  Major  Ripple  is  charged  with  the  care  of  the  music  for  this  service. 

III.  Chaplain  S.  C.  Logan,  D.D.,  has  leave  of  absence  for  six  months 
from  January  15th,  1879,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  foreign  lands,  for 
the  benefit  of  his  health. 

The  Commanding  Officer  avails  himself  of  this  opportunity  to  recog- 
nize, publicly,  his  sense  of  the  faithful  and  zealous  labors  of  Dr.  Logan 


THE   TRIALS   OF  PROSPERITY.  269 

for  this  command,  not  only  in  spiritual,  but  in  temporal  matters.  To 
him,  very  greatly,  we  are  indebted  for  our  Armory  and  all  its  contents ; 
and  his  wise  counsels  have  contributed  largely  to  the  success  and 
reputation  of  the  Guard. 

While  we  remember  his  past  services  with  gratitude,  we  shall  hope 
for  his  return  to  us,  strengthened  and  renewed  in  mind  and  body. 

By  order  of 

Colonel  H.  M.  Boies, 

Commanding. 

R.  Macmillan, 

ist  Lieut,  and  Adjutant. 


270  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE  MARCH   OF  THE   "SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD." 

The  Companies  and  the  "Honorable  Mention*' — Association  in  and  Influence 
upon  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania — The  Thirteenth  Regiment — Rifle 
Practice  and   Camp  Drill — "  Honor  to  whom  honor.'' 

AS  soon  as  the  Armory  was  ready  for  use,  the  City  Guard 
took  possession  of  it ;  and  both  officers  and  'men  felt 
that  the  battalion  was  fairly  on  its  feet.  The  companies  vied 
with  each  other  in  furnishing  their  company  rooms  with  mil- 
itary taste,  and  in  providing  them  with  every  convenience  for 
their  work.  The  headquarters  were  tastefully  and  conve- 
niently fitted  up,  and  became  inviting  to  the  officers  upon 
whom  fell  the  task  of  training  the  citizen  soldiery.  The  mil- 
itary enthusiasm,  which  the  novelty  of  the  service  and  the 
emphatic  call  to  patriotic  duty,  in  the  presence  of  visible  dan- 
gers, had  enkindled  had  to  be  kept  alive.  To  do  this  it  must 
be  harnessed  and  educated  to  the  higher  aims  of  a  military 
training.  It  was  the  determination  of  the  commanding  officer, 
emphatically  and  clearly  announced,  that  the  strictest  disci- 
pline and  drill  should  be  maintained  from  the  beginning;  and 
in  this  determination  he  was  faithfully  sustained  by  a  majority 
of  the  officers,  and  the  great  body  of  the  men.  Each  com- 
pany had  its  appointment  for  drill  one  evening  in  the  week, 
when  the  drill-room  and  armory  were  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  officer  having  charge  of  the  drill.  All  visitors, 
whether  members  of  the  Guard  or  not,  were  required  to  ob- 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      271 

serve  military  order,  and  etiquette,  when  about  the  Armory. 
The  companies  met  at  the  close  of  their  drills  in  their  com- 
pany rooms,  and  transacted  their  company  business  ;  devising 
ways  by  which  their  organization  might  accomplish  its  work 
and  meet  its  responsibilities  in  the  Guard. 

One  night  of  each  week,  all  commissioned  officers  were 
required  to  meet  at  Headquarters  ;  when  the  Major  put  them 
through  "the  school  of  the  soldier;  "  and  speedily  the  results 
of  the  training  became  manifest  both  in  officers  and  men. 
The  work  was  done  with  cheerfulness  as  well  as  success. 
But  very  soon  the  burdens  of  the  organization  began  to  be 
felt.  The  perpetual  routine  of  company  and  battalion  move- 
ments must  necessarily  become  irksome  to  the  young  men, 
who  were  perpetually  driven  by  their  business  callings.  The 
sacrifice  of  time  and  labor  demanded  of  officers  to  carry  on 
the  business  of  the  organization,  and  the  efforts  to  keep  alive 
the  military  spirit  of  the  Guard  became  very  heavy. 

Tact  and  care  were  used  by  the  commanding  officer  in 
varying  the  drills,  in  encouraging  entertainments  of  different 
kinds,  throughout  the  winter,  and  in  calling  out  the  whole 
battalion  for  exercise,  in  marches  and  parades ;  both  for  the 
gratification  of  the  command  and  for  the  keeping  alive  of  the 
public  interest  in  the  City  Guard. 

As  long  as  the  excitement  consequent  upon  the  strike,  and 
the  derangement  of  business  continued,  a  constant  guard  was 
on  duty  in  the  Armory,  to  protect  the  property  and  secure 
peace  in  the  community.  The  Guard,  in  a  few  months'  drill, 
reached  a  high  degree  of  promptness  and  efficiency.  The 
great  body,  both  of  officers  and  men,  understood  the  duties 
of  the  soldier  and  performed  them  with  military  spirit.  The 
April  inspection  gave  the  battalion  a  first-class  position  among 
the  troops  of  the  National  Guard  of  the  State. 

The  confidence  of  the  commander  in  the  readiness  of  the 
whole  command  for  any  emergency  which  might  arise,  taken 


272  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

with  the  repeated  assertions  of  the  harmlessness  of  such  sol- 
diers as  these,  on  the  part  of  politicians,  who  professed  to  be 
the  special  friends,  and  protectors,  of  the  workingmen;  and 
the  expressions  of  those  who  seemed  to  delight  in  disturbing 
the  peace  of  the  community,  led  him  to  test  the  promptness  of 
both  officers  and  men  by  a  method  entirely  original.  It  sub- 
jected him  to  a  great  deal  of  criticism  at  the  time,  both  from 
friends  and  foes.  But  the  healthfulness  of  his  experiment 
became  very  manifest,  in  that  it  settled  forever  the  question, 
in  the  minds  of  that  class  of  the  population  who  had  not  yet 
learned  that  the  day  of  lawlessness  and  riot  had  entirely 
passed  in  Scranton,  as  to  what  might  be  expected  to  follow 
any  attempt  to  control  the  industries  of  the  city,  or  valley, 
with  disorderly  strikes,  or  unlawful  intimidations  of  worthy 
workmen. 

Just  at  six  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  May  20th,  1878, 
Major  Boies  issued  an  order  and  placed  it  in  the  hands  of 
Adjutant  Hitchcock,  commanding  the  whole  Guard  to  report 
for  duty  fully  equipped  at  the  Armory  precisely  at  nine 
o'clock.  Not  a  single  officer,  or  man,  had  received  any  inti- 
mation of  what  was  intended,  or  of  what  emergency  demanded 
the  assembling  of  the  Guard.  At  the  hour  appointed  every  man 
of  the  four  companies  who  could  be  notified  and  all  officers,  field 
and  staff,  as  well  as  line,  were  found  in  place  awaiting  orders. 

A  night  of  excitement  in  the  city  followed.  There  were 
rumors  of  all  sorts  of  lawlessness  throughout  the  community; 
and  that  whole  class  of  people,  who  had  for  months  been 
complaining  about  the  existence  of  detectives  who  were 
supposed  to  be  shadowing  the  men  bent  on  deeds  of  dark- 
ness, became  most  painfully  disturbed.  Indeed,  they  be- 
came almost  frantic  in  their  fears  for  the  strain  upon  the  great 
industries,  and  manufacturing  interests,  of  the  community  by 
such  an  unexplained  show  of  military  power.  But  this  class 
in  the  community  were  quite  subject  to  such  excitement  when 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  '*  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      273 

the  Guard  came  to  the  front  during  these  days.  Their  pro- 
phecies however  had  ceased  to  do  anything  more  than  agitate 
a  large  number  of  sleeves  in  which  the  people  had  formed  a 
habit  of  laughing! 

But  the  demonstration  of  the  readiness  of  the  young  men 
who  had  sworn  to  protect  the  city  and  commonwealth,  under 
the  law,  gave  to  all  good  people,  as  well  as  to  the  Major  com- 
manding, a  confidence  in  the  Guard  which  has  never  since 
been  shaken.  After  ten  years  have  passed,  with  all  the 
changes  of  officers  and  men,  there  are  few  who  doubt  the 
ability  of  the  commandant  to  have  the  whole  City  Guard 
ready  for  duty,  in  less  than  half  the  time,  whatever  might  be  the 
exigency.  The  Major  tendered  his  congratulations  to  the  bat- 
talion for  its  prompt  response,  and  explained  the  nature  of  his 
experiment  greatly  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  Guard,  which  by 
this  means  had  established  a  thorough  ^confidence  in  itself.  No 
regrets  were  expressed  that  the  exigency  had  not  called  for  real 
soldierly  work  ;  although  a  number  of  the  men  grieved,  more 
or  less,  for  the  warm  suppers  they  had  left  untasted  after  a 
hard  day's  work. 

About  the  time  of  the  "  Spring  Inspection  "  it  occurred  to 
the  Major  that  means  outside  of  the  weekly  drills,  which  could 
not  be  kept  up  with  the  same  spirit  in  the  summer  months, 
must  be  invented  to  keep  the  best  men  in  the  Guard  ;  and 
hold  the  standard  of  membership  at  the  grade  of  character  at 
which  the  companies  had  started.  He  was  also  satisfied  that 
the  more  familiar  the  soldier  could  become  with  the  use  of 
his  gun,  the  more  efficient  soldier  he  must  be.  He  therefore 
brought  before  the  Board  of  Officers  a  proposition  to  establish 
a  Rifle  Range  ;  and  offer,  for  skill  in  marksmanship,  prizes  pro- 
vided by  the  battalion  and  its  friends  ,  the  whole  to  be  placed 
under  the  direction  of  a  Rifle  Association  This  proposal  was 
at  once  acceded  to.  An  association  styled  "The  Nay  Aug 
Rifle  Association"  was  formed,  with  Hugh  M.  Hannah  as 
18 


274  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

president.  Badges  were  provided  by  subscription,  which 
were  formed  of  two  silver  rifles  crossed  on  a  cloth  ground, 
which  were  offered  to  each  member  of  the  Guard  who  should 
qualify,  as  a  rifleman,  according  to  the  rules  of  the  American 
Rifle  Association,  as  published  in  "Wingate's  Practice." 

Lieutenant-  George  Sanderson,  to  whom  had  been  given  the 
command  of  the  squad  in  charge  of  the  Gatling  gun  that  had 
been  placed  by  the  State  authorities  in  the  city,  was  appointed 
"Inspector  of  Rifle  Practice,"  and  the  Companies  purchased 
the  ammunition  which  they  proposed  to  use.  Application 
was  made  to  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company,  which 
generously  permitted  the  establishment  of  a  range  on  their 
property,  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  city ;  and  four  metal  tar- 
gets were  presented  to  the  Guard  by  Messrs.  W.  W.  Scranton 
and  W.  F.  Hallstead.  Special  prizes  were  proposed  by  Major 
Boies,  by  Lieutenant  Sanderson,  by  Henry  Belin,  Jr.,  and  by 
others  ;  to  be  shot  for  by  teams  from  each  of  the  four'  com- 
panies. Five  crack-shot  badges  were  provided,  to  be  given  to 
the  men  making  the  highest  score  in  each  company,  and  in 
the  field  and  staff.  In  this  way  a  new  and  permanent  interest 
in  the  use  of  the  rifle  was  awakened,  and  the  healthful  spirit 
of  competition  between  companies  was  fostered.  A  prize  was 
also  offered  for  success  in  competition  drills  between  the 
companies.  All  these  prizes,  except  the  marksman's  badges, 
were  to  be  contested  for  during  three  years  in  succession 
and  given  upon  being  three  times  won. 

This  movement  to  secure  rifle  practice  as  a  part  of  the 
training  of  the  National  Guardsman  awoke  a  new  enthusiasm 
in  the  whole  battalion.  The  excellent  range,  secured  so  con- 
veniently to  the  city  and  fitted  up  by  the  battalion,  echoed  all 
summer  with  the  crack  of  the  rifles;  which  ere  long  were  to 
extend  the  excellent  reputation  of  the  City  Guard  all  over  the 
country.  When  the  season  closed  and  the  Inspector  pre- 
sented his  report,  it  was  found  that  fifty-one  members  of  the 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      275 

battalion  had  qualified  as  marksmen  and  had  earned  their 
badges  of  distinction.  There  would  have  been  many  more 
qualified  marksmen  this  year  but  for  the  strictness  of  the  in- 
terpretations which  were  placed  upon  the  "  rules  of  practice." 
A  public  meeting  of  the  battalion  and  of  citizens  was  called 
after  the  Fall  Inspection,  and,  by  the  request  of  the  Major, 
Governor  Hartranft  presented  the  prizes  and  the  marksmen 
badges  to  the  winners  with  interesting  military  ceremonies 
and  high  congratulations.  These  were  the  first  "  marksmen's 
badges"  ever  presented  to  her  soldiers  by  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania. They  were  presented  by  the  Governor  in  the  order 
•  of  rank,  and  hence  it  followed  that  Major  Boies  wore  the  first 
badge  presented  to  distinguish  the  marksmen  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania riflemen. 

The  first  prize  for  the  highest  score  was  awarded  to  Cor- 
poral George  B.  Hand,  of  Company  D,  and  the  second  to 
Captain  E.  H.  Ripple,  of  the  same  company.  The  trophy 
offered  to  the  company  qualifying  the  largest  number  of 
marksmen  was  awarded  to  Company  D,  and  presented  by 
Adjutant-General  Latta.  The  Sanderson  prize  was  won  by 
Company  A,  and  was  presented  to  them  by  the  Chaplain. 

These  were  the  first  prizes  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  whole  cost  of  them  was  furnished  by  the  Guard  and 
their  friends. 

Both  the  Governor  and  Adjutant-General  of  the  State  ex- 
pressed their  high  appreciation  of  the  movement  to  make 
rifle  practice  a  part  of  the  State's  training  for  its  National 
Guard. 

The  interest  thus  awakened  in  rifle  practice  became  very 
soon  general,  and  the  benefit  to  the  Guard  was  marked  and 
permanent.  From  that  time  the  question  of  marksmanship 
entered  into  the  schemes  of  the  companies  for  keeping  up 
their  membership;  and  rifle  practice  through  the  summer 
months  took  the  place  of  drills  and  parades.  The  success  of 
this  work  quickly  brought  its  fruits  in  many  ways. 


276  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

In  the  opening  of  the  summer  of  1879;  after  the  City  Guard 
had  been  united  with  a  number  of  outside  companies,  to  form 
the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  by  action  of  the  State  authority ; 
the  commander  applied  to  the  Governor  for  the  privilege  of 
sending  a  team  to  represent  the  State  militia  at  the  Creed- 
moor  matches,  where  the  State  had  never  been  represented. 
The  Guard  agreed  to  pay  all  the  expenses  of  its  own  team, 
and  hence  the  permission  was  granted.  In  the  September 
matches  of  1879  this  team,  composed  entirely  of  members  of 
the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  and  all,  except  one,  from  the  four 
companies  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard,  appeared  at  Creed- 
moor,  and  made  a  respectable  record  for  the  State.  They 
captured  the  third  prize  in  the  inter-state  contest ;  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  with  their  veteran  teams,  only  surpassing 
them. 

For  years  after  this,  the  honor  of  representing  the  National 
Guard  of  the  State,  at  these  national  contests  with  the  rifle, 
was  awarded  to  the  team,  ten-twelfths  of  whom  were  mem- 
bers of  the  City  Guard.  Nor  did  the  regiment  ever  fail  to' 
send  forward  its  regimental  team  for  all  regimental  contests 
that  might  take  place  at  Creedmoor.  Many  prizes  were  taken 
by  the  Guard  at  these  matches,  and  in  the  fall  of  1882  the 
team  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  had  the  marked  distinction 
of  taking  every  first  prize  that  was  offered.  That  year  they 
carried  away  the  "Army  and  Navy  Journal  Cup,"  the  " Hil- 
ton Trophy"  and  the  "Soldier  of  Marathon,"  with  a  number 
of  personal  and  company  prizes.  For  nine  years  these  compa- 
nies have  held  their  advanced  position  in  this  special  qualifi- 
cation of  the  soldier.  The  Silver  Palma,  presented  by  Colonel 
Boies,  to  be  contested  for  annually  by  all  the  Regiments  of 
the  State  during  a  number  of  years ;  and  to  be  carried  by  the 
Regiment  whose  team  should  make  the  highest  score  at  the 
annual  encampment,  has  been  perched  upon  the  top  of  the 
flagstaff  of  the  colors  of  the  Thirteenth  through  all  the  years, 


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THE  MARCH  OF  THE  '*  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      277 

until  now  it  owns  it.  Company  A,  of  the  City  Guard,  has 
the  high  distinction  which  no  company  of  either  the  National 
Guard  or  any  company  of  the  regular  army  has  yet  reached — 
that  of  for  seven  years,  in  succession,  presenting  a  full  com- 
pany for  inspection,  every  member  of  which  was  a  qualified 
marksman,  according  to  the  strictest  construction  of  the  Na- 
tional Rifle  Association  rules.  It  would  seem  to  be  entirely 
just  and  according  to  the  fitness  of  things  that  in  1887  the 
Hon.  Louis  A.  Watres,  under  whose  command  this  company 
reached  its  highest  distinction,  should  be  made  State  Inspector 
of  Rifle  Practice,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel.  A  large  number 
of  the  members  of  the  Guard  wear  one  more  bar  upon  their 
marksman's  badges  than  the  members  of  any  other  regiment 
in  the  State. 

Thus,  throughout  its  history,  the  City  Guard  has  held  its 
place  at  the  head  of  the  National  Guard  of  the  Commonwealth 
in  the  number  and  excellence  of  its  riflemen.  Its  first  in- 
spector of  rifle  practice,  Lieutenant  George  Sanderson,  in  the 
third  year  of  his  service,  was  promoted  to  the  position  of 
Lieutenant-colonel  on  the  Governor's  staff,  and  made  Inspec- 
tor of  Rifle  Practice  for  the  State.  His  successor  in  the  13th 
Regiment,  George  L.  Breck,  of  Company  D,  after  four  years' 
service  in  the  13th  Regiment,  with  the  rank  of  Captain,  as 
inspector  of  rifle  practice,  was  placed,  with  the  rank  of  Major, 
in  the  position  temporarily  of  Inspector  for  the  State,  during 
the  absence  from  the  country  of  the  occupant,  Major  Shakes- 
peare, of  Philadelphia.  In  this  position,  and  under  his  efficient 
administration,  this  arm  of  the  service  has  made  a  marked 
advance.  The  real  value  of  such  a  training  to  a  citizen  sol- 
diery has  now  ceased  to  be  a  question.  Familiarity  with  the 
power  and  purpose  of  the  arms  must  give  both  courage  and 
coolness,  as  well  as  efficiency  to  the  guardsmen;  so  that,  when 
the  exigency  arises,  the  State  will  not  be  dependent  upon  men 
as  liable  to  misuse  as  properly  to  use  the  force  it  has  placed 


278  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

in  their  hands,  as  a  terror  only  to  evil  doers,  and  never  as  a 
menace  to  the  liberty  and  security  of  a  free  people. 

But  the  officers  and  men  of  the  City  Guard  did  not  give 
their  whole  attention  to  the  attainment  of  their  worthy  dis- 
tinction in  the  rifle  practice.  From  the  day  the  Armory  was 
ready  for  use  no  weather  or  burden  of  business  was  suffered 
to  interfere  with  the  weekly  company  drills.  As  frequently 
as  was  deemed  best,  two  of  the  companies  were  trained  in 
battalion  movements,  in  the  armory,  and  as  often  as  once  a 
month  the  whole  Guard  was  exercised  in  out-door  move- 
ments. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1878,  by  special  invitation,  the  battalion 
attended  the  Centennial  of  the  Wyoming  Massacre,  and  acted 
as  a  Guard  of  Honor  to  His  Excellency  R.  B.  Hayes,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  In  this  march  it  won  the  highest 
commendations  from  a  multitude  of  the  most  intelligent  citi- 
zens, and  high  public  functionaries.  The  appreciation  of  their 
services  on  this  march  was  expressed  by  the  presentation  to 
them  of  a  stand  of  colors  by  the  citizens  of  Wyoming. 

On  the  14th  of  August,  1878,  the  Guard  celebrated  the  an- 
niversary of  its  muster  into  service,  by  an  excursion  over  the 
Gravity  Road  to  Honesdale,  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  hospi- 
tality of  that  city.  Here  was  initiated  the  idea  of  taking  the 
men  into  camp  for  the  purpose  of  instruction  and  practice  in 
the  duties  of  the  national  Guardsman.  Captain  Bryson  asked 
and  obtained  permission  to  place  Company  A  in  a  camp 
under  military  order  for  a  week.  This  company  went  into 
camp  on  the  Dyberry,  near  Honesdale,  on  the  evening  of 
August  14th,  and  broke  camp  on  the  19th.  During  this  encamp- 
ment Captain  Bryson  put  his  company  through  a  rigid  disci- 
pline, in  drill  and  in  the  whole  routine  of  camp  duty,  which 
was  greatly  enjoyed  by  both  officers  and  men.  In  his  report 
Captain  Bryson  states  that  through  the  whole  time  "  there 
was  not  a  single  act  of  insubordination  or  breach  of  discipline." 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      279 

The  captain  closes  his  report  with  the  expression  of  his  con- 
viction that  "  a  single  week  of  camp  life,  under  strict  military- 
discipline,  will  do  more  to  promote  efficiency  in  the  National 
Guard  than  months  of  armory  drills."  The  results  of  this  ex- 
perience were  very  manifest  in  the  company  itself.  Company 
A  at  once  came  to  the  front  as  a  drilled  company,  and  through- 
out the  history  of  the  Guard  it  has  maintained  its  reputation 
as  that  of  one  of  the  best  drilled  companies  in  the  nation.  But 
of  the  advancement  and  distinction  of  the  companies  mention 

will  be  made  hereafter. 

The  experiences  of  the  summer  of  1 877  had  turned  the  atten- 
tion of  the  great  body  of  good  citizens,  in  the  Commonwealth, 
to  the  character  of  its  National  Guard.  The  exigencies  created 
by  the  great  strike,  and  by  the  lawless  spirit  following  in  its 
wake,  which  swept  over  all  the  cities  revealed  most  painfully 
the  dependence  of  the  State  authorities  upon  a  soldiery,  for 
which  the  State  had  made  the  smallest  sacrifices,  and  upon 
which  the  smallest  attention  had  been  bestowed.  The  organi- 
zation of  the  National  Guard  was  bunglesome  and  inefficient. 
By  its  very  organization  it  would  seem  never  to  have  been  in- 
tended for  service.  There  were  many  efficient  regiments, 
formed  of  good  material ;  and  a  few  excellent  independent  or- 
ganizations, which  had  been  kept  alive  by  the  force  of  their  own 
history,  and  at  their  own  expense  ;  which  were  entirely  worthy 
of  all  confidence;  such  as  the  1st  Regiment  of  Philadelphia,  the 
State  Fencibles,  the  City  Troop  and  some  other  organizations. 
But,  in  general,  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  at  that  date, 
would  remind  the  serious  patriot  of  the  description  which  an 
irate  quartermaster  gave  of  Governor  Shelby's  army,  in  18 12. 
This  man  had  been  made  an  extempore  "  master  of  transpor- 
tation," and  had  been  called  before  a  court-martial  upon  com- 
plaint of  a  captain,  for  refusing  to  allow  wearied  men  to  ride  on 
his  transportation  wagons,  when  he  had  been  ordered  to  do  so 
by  the  said  captain.  When  asked  for  his  defense,  this  Master  of 


280  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Transportation  plead  that  he  had  not  yet  learned  how  to  ad- 
just himself,  or  his  authority,  to  an  army  which  was  "  composed 
of  ten  thousand  men  and  eleven  thousand  officers."  When 
required  by  the  General  to  explain  himself  more  definitely,  he 
said  he  would  illustrate  the  case,  as  he  understood  it,  by  the 
department  with  which  he  was  most  familiar.  "  Here  am  I," 
said  he,  "  Captain,  Quartermaster,  and,  by  special  order,  Gen- 
eral of  Transportation.  Captain  Smith  is  also  Captain  of  com- 
pany I,  also  Quartermaster  and  General  of  Transportation. 
Both  lieutenants  of  his  company  hold  likewise  all  these  offices. 
His  four  sergeants  and  eight  corporals  equally  hold  these 
offices  when  the  Captain  sends  them  with  orders  to  me.  So 
it  runs  throughout  the  army,  or  at  least  through  all  of  it  that 
has  come  in  the  way  of  transportation."  Shelby  solemnly 
dismissed  him  to  his  wagons. 

There  had  been  no  legislation  changing  the  organization 
of  the  militia  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  on  a  peace  basis, 
since  the  Act  of  1858.  Hence  at  the  time  when  the  condition 
of  affairs  demanded  that  the  whole  Guard  should  take  the 
field,  in  1877,  the  organization  was  about  as  cumbersome  and 
difficult  to  make  efficient  as  Shelby's  army  was  said  to  be  by 
his  extempore  master  of  transportation.  There  were  twenty- 
one  Divisions  in  the  State,  each  commanded  by  a  Major- 
General,  who  was  also  surrounded  by  a  numerous  and  hand- 
some Staff.  These  twenty-one  Divisions  were  subdivided  into 
seventy  Brigades,  which  was  a  Brigade  to  each  county,  while 
the  City  of  Philadelphia  was  allowed  three.  Each  of  these 
seventy  Brigades  was  commanded  by  a  Brigadier-General,  who 
was  also  allowed  a  numerous  and  handsome  Staff.  The  army 
of  the  National  Guard  of  the  Commonwealth  was  thus  in  the 
hands  of  twenty-one  Major-Generals  and  seventy  Brigadiers, 
when  perhaps  no  Major-General  had  more  than  one  trained 
and  reliable  Regiment  in  his  division,  which  the  Governor 
could  rely  upon  to  disperse  a  mob  or  quell  a  tumult.     Under 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      281 

this  system  the  military  spirit  had  been  fairly  put  to  sleep. 
The  better  class  of  citizens ;  except  in  the  case  of  historic 
regiments,  already  referred  to,  and  independent  battalions ; 
had  no  thought  of  going  into  the  ranks,  or  of  attempting 
to  make  the  military  service  of  the  State  honorable. 

The  riots  of  1877  called  the  attention  of  the  whole  people  to 
this  condition  of  the  National  Guard;  and  in  1878  a  new  Act 
was  passed  whjch  reduced  the  Divisions  to  one  for  the  whole 
State,  and  the  Brigades  to  five  at  the  most;  and  leaving  it  with 
the  General  in  command  to  form  the  Guard  in  any  number  of 
Brigades,  under  five,  at  his  discretion.  Major-general  Har- 
tranft,  who  had  just  completed  his  term  of  service  as  Governor 
of  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed  to  this  command,  and  he 
organized  the  National  Guard  into  three  brigades.  Thus 
twenty  Major-generals  and  sixty-nine  Brigadiers  were  mus- 
tered out  of  service  ;  and  with  these  vanished  a  host  of  use- 
less and  dangerous  regiments  and  companies  from  the  Guard 
of  the  State. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  army  of  ten  thousand  men  and  eleven 
thousand  officers  gave  place  to  a  National  Guard,  which,  with 
sufficient  care,  could  be  selected  of  the  best  material  the  State 
affords;  and  not  sufficiently  officered  to  perplex  and  break  it 
down. 

There  were,  perhaps,  few  military  organizations  in  the  State 
that  were  more  potent  in  awakening  this  long  dormant  mili- 
tary spirit,  and  in  bringing  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsyl- 
vania out  of  the  entanglements  of  this  immense  organization, 
than  was  the  "  Scranton  City  Guard."  By  the  character  of 
the  young  men  who  composed  the  companies,  by  the  earnest 
efficiency  of  the  officers,  and  by  the  worthy  pride  and  interest 
taken  by  the  citizens  in  the  battalion,  the  military  zeal  of  the 
City  of  Scranton  spread  through  all  the  towns  in  Northeastern 
Pennsylvania. 

The  commanding  officer  was  approached  by  committees, 


A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

and  appealed  to  by  letters,  from  inchoate  companies  for  coun- 
sel.    Propositions  for  the  consolidation  with  the  City  Guard 
of  new  companies,  made  of  the  best  material,  in  neighboring 
towns,  poured  in  upon  him.     Under  the  consolidation  ordered 
by  the  Act  of  1878,  it  was  soon  supposed,  by  the  Major  and 
some  of  his  advisors,  that  the  Scranton  City  Guard  could  hardly 
hope  to  retain  its  existence  as  a  separate  battalion  of  four  com- 
panies.    Hence  it  was  suggested  that  it  would  be  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  anticipate  the  action  of  higher  authorities  and 
secure  such  outside  companies  as  would  most  readily  affiliate 
with  the  Guard,  and  thus  create  a  Regiment  capable  of  a  first- 
class  reputation.  To  this  end  the  young  men  of  Honesdale,  of 
Carbondale   and  of  the  Providence  and  Hvde  Park  wards  of 
Scranton  were  encouraged  to  enlist  and  organize  companies; 
with  the  expectation  of  being  united  with  the  Scranton  City- 
Guard.     Thus  the  military'  enthusiasm  created  by  the  success 
of  the  Guard, — which  was  the  first  organization  in  the  State 
that  owned  its  own  rifle  range,  and  among  the  first  to  own  its 
own  Armory,  spread  and  was  directed  into  the  best  channels. 
By  the  visit  of  the  Guard  to  Honesdale,  and  the  encamp- 
ment of  Company  A  in  that  place,  a  military  spirit  was  aroused^ 
which  within  a  few  months  resulted  in  the  enrollment  and  or- 
ganization of  one  of  the  best  companies  in  the  State;  with  Cap- 
tain George  F.  Bentley  in  command,  and  Lieutenants  D.  R.  At- 
kinson and    Horace   G.  Young  in  the  rear.    "The  Honesdale 
Guards  "  were  mustered  into  service,  formed  of  the  same  class 
of  worthy  citizens  that  had  formed  the  Scranton  City-  Guard. 
Next  to  these  came  a  company  organized  in  Carbondale,  under 
Captain  John  O.  Miles;  but  this  company  failed  to  receive  the 
enthusiastic  support  from  the  city  which  was  necessary  to  its 
highest  success.     The  officers  were  worthy  men,  but  they  la- 
bored under  great  discouragements  ;  yet  the  company  reached 
a  respectable  position.     About  the  same  time  the  work  of  en- 
listment began  in  Providence,  as  the  first  ward  of  the  city  of 
Scranton,  was  at  that  time  called. 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      283 

A  company  styled  the  "  Providence  Rifles  "  was  organized 
by  the  efforts  of  Captain  E.  \Y.  Pearce,  which  had  in  it 
some  excellent  material.  But  this  company,  for  a  time,  suf- 
fered from  the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  best  young  men  of  that 
part  of  the  city  had  already  enlisted  in  the  companies  of  the 
Scranton  City  Guard.  There  was  also  enlisted,  about  the  same 
time,  a  company  at  Pleasant  Valley,  about  seven  miles  from 
the  city,  under  command  of  Captain  F.  J.  Boone,  which  had  in 
it  fifty-five  men ;  but  it  never  drilled  sufficiently  to  take  a  re- 
spectable military  position  along  with  the  other  companies. 
These  companies,  with  Company  G,  a  fragment  of  the  old  Na- 
tional Guard  at  Susquehanna  Depot,  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain James  Smith,  and  the  Gatling  Gun  Squad,  under  com- 
mand of  Lt.  George  Sanderson,  were,  on  the  ioth  of  October, 
1878,  united  with  the  four  companies  of  "  the  Scranton  City 
Guard"  to  constitute  the  13th  Regiment,  which  was  placed  in 
the  Third  Brigade  of  the  National  Guards  of  Pennsvlvania. 
This  was  a  regiment  of  eight  companies ;  five  of  which  were 
composed  of  the  best  material,  both  officers  and  men,  that 
could  be  found  in  any  regiment  of  the  citizen  soldiery  in  the 
whole  commonwealth.  After  the  inspection  of  the  Regiment, 
on  the  ioth  of  October,  at  Scranton,  by  Majors  M.  L.  Moor- 
head  and  E.  J.  Phillips,  members  of  General  J.  K.  Seigfreid's 
Staff;  an  election  of  officers  was  ordered  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  at  the  Armorv.  The  election  was  conducted  bv 
Major  Moorhead,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Major  H.  M. 
Boies  for  Colonel;  Adjutant  F.  L.  Hitchcock,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  :  and  Captain  E.  H.  Ripple,  of  Company  D,  for  Major- 
The  results  of  this  election  were  accepted  with  general  satis- 
faction, all  of  the  field  officers  being  taken  from  the  Scranton 
City  Guard. 

There  was  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  four  companies,  both 
among  officers  and  men.  created  bvthis  consolidation  and  for- 
mation  of  the  Regiment     In  the  judgment  of  a  large  body  of 


284  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

the  best  men,  both  in  the  battalion  and  among  the  citizens  of 
the  city,  it  was  apprehended  that  the  Regiment,  thus  composed 
could  not  be  lifted  to  the  grade  and  reputation  of  the  Scranton 
City  Guard.  It  was  believed  that  the  life  of  the  Regiment  must 
be  sustained  at  the  expense  of  the  Guard ;  and,  instead  of  an 
unexceptionable  and  efficient  Battalion,  many  believed  the  city 
would'be  burdened  with  a  very  common  Regiment,  whose  com- 
panies could  never  affiliate  sufficiently;  or  meet  in  service  fre- 
quently enough  to  constitute  a  well-trained  and  efficient  body 
of  troops.  It  was  especially  feared  that  the  first-class  young  men 
composing  the  Scranton  City  Guard  would  lose  their  interest,  and 
leave  the  service  as  soon  as  they  could  present  reasons  for  being 
honorably  discharged.  It  was  also  especially  feared  that  the 
interest  taken  by  the  citizens  in  the  Guard,  which  had  done  so 
much  for  its  life  and  advancement,  would  speedily  die  out;  as 
the  battalion  of  which  they  were  so  proud,  would,  very  natur- 
ally, be  lost  in  the  regiment  of  which  they  could  only  consti- 
tute one-half,  at  the  best.  Many  of  the  best  friends  of  the  City 
Guard  who  had  not  objected,  at  all,  to  the  ultimate  formation  of 
a  full  Regiment,  believed  the  time  had  not  come ;  and  that  the 
city  was  not  yet  large  enough  to  sustain  eight  companies,  com- 
posed of  such  material  as  had  given  the  four  companies  their 
excellent  reputation  in  so  short  a  time.  But  they  believed  the 
time  could  not  be  long  delayed,  if  the  Guard  could  be  con- 
tinued in  the  popular  esteem,  when,  as  an  institution  of  the 
city,  as  well  as  a  part  of  the  National  Guard,  four  more  first- 
class  companies  could  be  mustered  in,  and  so  form  a  Regiment 
which  should  take  its  place  along  with  the  historic  military 
organizations  of  the  country. 

But  this  was  a  case  in  which  discussion  seemed  to  be  use- 
less. The  opportunity  for  demonstrating  which  of  the  various 
views  might  secure  the  best  results  to  the  State,  and  to  the 
battalion  itself,  which  in  so  brief  an  existence  had  become  the 
pride  of  the  city,  was  quickly  removed  by  the  consolidation 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      285 

order  issued  by  the  State  authorities,  to  take  effect  on  the 
I  oth  of  October,  1878. 

The  Major  of  the  Guard  being-  the  chief,  if  not  the  only- 
earnest  advocate  of  this  destiny  of  the  Battalion  of  four  com- 
panies, obtained,  in  the  minds  of  its  opponents,  the  entire 
credit  of  the  movement,  at  the  expense  of  his  growing  pop- 
ularity, for  a  time.  The  question  as  to  whether  the  Guard 
was  to  exist  in  order  to  the  development  of  military  promo- 
tions, and  reputation  of  the  officers,  was  freely  discussed 
among  the  young  men.  There  were  many  who  could  not 
rid  themselves  of  the  idea  that  such  radical  changes,  in  the 
relations  of  the  military  companies  of  a  volunteer  militia, 
ought  not  to  be  consummated  without  some  expression  from 
the  companies  themselves ;  especially  as  these  companies  had 
been  organized  by  men  who  had  a  choice  as  to  the  company 
they  proposed  to  keep,  and  under  special  arrangements 
secured  from  the  Governor  at  the  time.  The  whole  Battalion 
had  been  formed,  as  all  the  records  show,  with  the  special 
purpose  of  protecting  the  city  to  which  it  belonged.  The 
paper  published  by  the  young  men,  before  they  enlisted,  had 
defined  their  position  distinctly,  and  their  relation  to  the  State 
had,  as  they  understood,  been  a  matter  of  compromise. 
Whether  the  authorities  had  the  power  so  to  compromise, 
was  a  question  which  they  had  not  themselves  especially 
considered. 

The  great  body  of  men  in  the  ranks,  and,  perhaps,  a  ma- 
jority of  the  officers,  greatly  preferred  a  separate  and  inde- 
pendent Battalion,  like  the  State  Fencibles  of  Philadelphia, 
with  no  higher  officer  than  a  Major.  The  Major  without 
doubt  was  earnest  and  sincere  in  his  conviction  that  the  grad- 
uation of  the  Guard  into  the  Regiment  would  greatly  redound 
to  the  benefit  of  the  State  service  and  add  to  the  efficiency  of 
the  National  Guard  of  the  Commonwealth.  He  thought  it 
would  decidedly  strengthen  the  patriotic  virtue  of  a  larger 


286  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

body  of  good  citizens ;  and  bind  together  the  law  and  order 
communities  of  the  whole  region,  over  which  the  membership 
of  the  regiment  should  extend.  The  Scranton  City  Guard 
had  been  potently  used  to  arouse  the  military  and  patriotic 
spirit  in  the  whole  valley  and  in  all  the  neighboring  towns. 
He  therefore  felt  that  this  consolidation  would  be  but  the 
gathering  of  the  legitimate  harvest  of  the  careful  sowing,  in 
which  all  had  been  willing  partakers;  and  the  experiences  of 
the  dangers  of  1877  had  certainly  demonstrated  the  wisdom, 
as  well  as  the  necessity,  of  having  a  reliable  National  Guard 
for  the  whole  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

But  whatever  might  be  the  differences  of  opinion  or  judg- 
ment, the  members  of  the  Guard  patriotically  adjusted  them- 
selves to  the  order  of  the  higher  authority  without  demon- 
stration of  any  sort,  save  a  small  amount  of  grumbling.  It  is 
doubtful  if  any  after-experience,  or  actual  advancement  of  the 
Regiment,  ever  changed  the  judgment  of  the  parties  that  were 
interested  in  this  measure  on  either  side.  The  high  character 
of  the  Guard  was  manifested  in  the  determination  to  carry 
with  them  to  the  front  rank,  in  military  devotion,  all  the  out- 
side companies  that  could  be  induced  to  go  with  them;  while 
they  affiliated  naturally,  and  socially,  with  none  of  these  com- 
panies so  fully  as  with  the  most  excellent  one  at  Honesdale. 

The  roster  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  at  its  organization 
on  the  10th  of  October,  1878,  was  as  follows: 

Henry  M.  Boies,  Colonel. 
F.  L.  Hitchcock,  Lieut.-Col.  Ezra  H.  Ripple,  Major. 

1st  Lieutenant  Robt.  Macmillan,  Adjutant. 
Major  N.  Y.  Leet,  Surgeon. 
S.  C.  Logan,  D.D.,  Chaplain. 
Captain  H.  A.  Kingsbury,  Commissary. 
Lieutenant  James  Ruthven,  Quartermaster. 
Lieutenant  H.  N.  Dunnell,  1st  Asst.  Surgeon. 
Lieutenant,  W.  H.  Cummings,  2d  Asst.  Surgeon. 
Captain  George  L.  Breck,  Inspector  of  Rifle  Practice. 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      287 

NON-COMMISSIONED  STAFF. 

Sergeant  Major.  Quartermaster  Sergeant. 

Ed.  F.  Chamberlin.  Melvin  I.  Corbett. 

Commissary  Sergeant.  Principal  Musicians. 

L.  M.  Horton.                  Chas.  R.  Smith  and  W.  J.  McDonnell. 
Color  Sergeant. 
James  Moir. 

Gatling  Gun  Squad. 

Captain. 

George  Sanderson. 

Austin  B.  Blair,  Sergeant. 

"THE  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD." 

Company  A. 

Captain. 

Henry  A.  Knapp. 

1st  Lieut.,  Edward  J.  Smith.  2d  Lieut.,  John  C  Highriter. 

Company  B. 

Captain. 

Daniel  Bartholomew. 

ist  Lieut.,  Wm.  Kellow.  2d  Lieut.,  Chas.  R.  Fuller. 

Company  C. 

Captain. 

Henry  A.  Coursen. 

ist  Lieut.,  Louis  A.  Watres.  2d  Lieut.  T.  Frank  Penman. 

Company  D. 

Captain. 

James  A.  Linen. 

ist  Lieut.,  Samuel  Hines.  2d  Lieut.,  Edward  S.  Jackson. 

"  HONESDALE   GUARDS." 

Company  E. 

Captain. 

George  F.  Bentley. 

ist  Lieut.,  D.  R.  Atkinson.  2d  Lieut.,  Horace  G.  Young. 

"VAN  BERGEN  GUARDS,"  (Carbondale). 

Company  F. 

Captain. 
John  0.  Miles, 
ist  Lieut.,  Thomas  M.  Lindsay        2d  Lieut.,  Wm.  M.  Thomson. 


288  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

"TELFORD  ZOUAVES"  (Susquehanna). 

Company  G. 

Captain. 

James  Smith. 

1st  Lieut.,  S.  L.  French.  2d  Lieut.,  Hon.  Geo.  A.  Post. 

"  PROVIDENCE  RIFLES." 

Company  H. 

Captain. 
E.  W.  Pearce. 
1st  Lieut.,  Frank  Courtright.  2d  Lieut.,  R.  E.  Westlake.   ' 

These  constituted  the  Companies  in  the  organization  of  the 
Regiment.  Upon  the  first  inspection  the  Company  enlisted  at 
Pleasant  Valley  by  Captain  F.  J.  Boone  was  enrolled  with  the 
Regiment.  But  it  failed  entirely,  and  was  mustered  out  within 
a  few  weeks  afterwards.  The  "  Providence  Rifles  "  took  its 
place,  as  Company  H.,  a  very  short  time  after  the  organiza- 
tion ;  and  hence  is  here  recorded  as  in  the  organization.  For 
ten  years  this  Company,  with  that  of  the  Honesdale  Guards, 
has  maintained  a  first-class  position,  and  marched  steadily  on 
with  the  four  Companies  of  the  "Scranton  City  Guard."  The 
worthy  reputation  and  true  excellence  of  this  Company  has 
been  won  chiefly  under  its  efficient  officers,  Captain  John 
B.  Fish  and  Lieutenants  Wm.  B.  Rockwell  and  Charles  S. 
Weston. 

These  six  Companies  composing  the  Scranton  City  Guard ; 
the  Honesdale  Guards  ;  and  the  Providence  Rifles,  have  chiefly 
made  the  reputation  of  high  excellence,  which  has  marked 
the  13th  Regiment  in  the  National  Guards  of  Pennsylvania. 

For  five  years  the  "Van  Bergen  Guards,"  of  Carbondale, 
struggled  against  great  difficulties.  The  worthy  captain,  Thos. 
M.  Lindsay,  who  was  a  veteran  of  the  war;  without  sufficient 
encouragement  from  the  city  where  the  company  belonged,  or 
efficient  support  of  company  officers,  worked  hard  to  make  a 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      289 

first-class  company ;  and  in  some  respects  succeeded.  In  some 
points  his  company  was  superior.  As  skirmishers,  and  in 
the  skirmish  drill,  for  two  successive  years  Company  F  was 
recognized  as  the  leading  company.  But  it  was  ultimately 
mustered  out  because  of  a  failure  to  enlist  men  to  fill  the  places, 
made  vacant  by  resignations,  by  dismissions,  and  by  comple- 
tion of  the  terms  of  service.  Itsplace  in  the  Regiment  was  taken, 
in  1884,  by  a  company  enlisted  at  Stroudsburg,  which  to  the 
present  time  has  its  history  to  make. 

The  Telford  Zouaves  was  an  old  Company  of  the  National 
Guard,  which  had  seen  some  service  in  the  disturbances  of 
1877,  and  had  efficient  officers;  but  being  so  far  separated 
from  the  other  companies,  it  could  not  be  identified  with  the 
Regiment  in  any  proper  sense.  Nor  could  its  officers  bring  it 
up  to  the  standard  which  the  life  of  the  new  National  Guard 
demanded.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  it  was  mustered  out ; 
and  a  company  enlisted  and  organized,  under  encouragement 
from  the  officers  of  the  Regiment,  at  Factoryville,  was  mus- 
tered in  as  Company  G.  This  company  has  had  to  contend 
with  great  difficulties  from  the  beginning.  It  has  been  han- 
dicapped by  its  isolation.  Being  composed  of  young  farmers 
and  members  widely  scattered,  it  has  been  very  difficult  to 
have  a  sufficient  number  of  drills  to  keep  it  fully  on  the  march. 
But  the  perseverance  of  most  of  the  officers  and  men  has  been 
worthy  of  all  praise.  The  final  success  of  this  Company  has 
been  chiefly  due  to  one  man  who  has  been  in  it  from  its  or- 
ganization, and  who  for  the  last  two  years  has  commanded  it 
as  Captain.  Captain  Ed.  C.  Smith  enlisted  as  a  private  with 
the  determination  to  be  "the  best  soldier  of  the  Company." 
And  as  he  advanced  to  one  office  after  another,  he  carried 
with  him  the  same  determination.  His  influence  has  been 
marked  in  all  this  service ;  and  since  he  has  had  charge  of  the 
Company,  its  improvement  has  been  manifest  to  the  whole 
Regiment. 
19 


290  A   CITYS   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

In  August  of  1885,  eight  years  after  the  organization  of 
the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  a  Company  composed  entirely  of 
respectable  Irishmen,  in  the  First  Ward  of  the  City  of  Scran- 
ton,  and  styling  itself  "The  Parnell  Guards,"  was,  under  the 
arrangements  of  Governor  Pattison  and  his  Adjutant,  General 
Guthrie,  attached  to  the  Regiment  as  Company  I.  It  has  shown 
itself  to  be  composed  of  worthy  men,  and  has  intelligent  and 
efficient  officers.  Its  affiliation  with  the  other  companies  of 
the  Regiment  was  necessarily  imperfect,  because  of  the  marked 
race  affiliation,  and  the  possible  political  shadows  under 
which  this  Company  was  thought  to  have  been  organized. 
The  question  of  its  success  as  a  military  company  in  the 
National  Guard  and  of  the  real  strength  it  may  add  to  the 
Thirteenth  Regiment  are  yet  problems  unsolved.  But  the 
strict  discipline  which  has  been  maintained  by  its  officers — 
first  by  Captain  Wm.  Burke  and  then  by  its  able  Captain, 
Joseph  H.  Duggan — for  the  last  two  years ;  united  with  the 
manly  and  soldierly  bearing  of  the  men,  have  greatly  removed 
the  burden  of  prejudice  which  met  them  when  the  company 
was  attached  to  the  Thirteenth  Regiment.  The  general  judg- 
ment now  is  that  Company  I  will  add  real  strength  to  the  or- 
ganization. These  are  all  of  the  Companies  which  have  thus 
far  been  connected  with  the  Thirteenth  Regiment.  The  only 
Companies  which  have  remained  in  constant  service  from  the 
organization  of  the  Regiment;  and  which  are  therefore  entitled 
to  the  full  honor  of  making  and  sustaining  its  high  reputa- 
tion throughout  the  National  Guard,  are  the  four  Companies 
of  the  Scranton  City  Guard  and  Company  E,  the  Honesdale 
Guards. 

These  organizations,  while  they  have  constantly  changed 
both  officers  and  men,  have  kept  up  their  high  character  and 
patriotic  enthusiasm.  They  have  furnished  the  Teams  for  the 
rifle  contests,  State  and  National.  By  their  excellent  drill 
and  discipline;  by  their  marching  and  manual  of  arms  ;  as  well 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      291 

as  by  the  high  character  of  officers  and  men,  these  companies 
reached  a  high  position  among  the  best  military  organiza- 
tions of  the  country;  and  have  done  much  to  make  the  service 
itself  worthy  and  respectable.  Next  to  these  five  companies 
has  ever  marched  Company  H,  the  "Providence  Rifles." 
With  many  difficulties  to  contend  with  in  the  beginning  and 
for  the  first  two  years, — while  Captain  Pearce  was  its  leader, 
who  found  discouragements  abundant ;  yet  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  John  B.  Fish,  who  commanded  a  Pennsyl- 
vania Battery  during  the  whole  Rebellion,  aided  by  his 
worthy  lieutenants,  William  B.  Rockwell  and  Charles  S. 
Weston,  this  Company  took  a  new  departure.  It  soon  proved 
itself  worthy  of  the  high  place  it  has  ever  since  held  in  the 
Regiment.  It  has  built  its  own  armory  and  done  its  portion 
of  duty  both  in  field  and  camp.  The  highest  compliment 
that  can  be  paid  this  Company  is  to  record  the  fact,  that  in 
the  estimation  of  those  who  have  most  intimately  associated 
with  its  men  and  officers,  it  is  worthy  to  constitute  a  part  of 
the  "Scranton  City  Guard." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  do  full  justice  to  the  four  com- 
panies which  constitute  the  Scranton  City  Guard,  without  re- 
cording minutely  the  history  of  each  company  throughout  the 
ten  years  of  faithful  service  which  they  have  already  rendered. 
This,  of  course,  would  require  a  prolixity  of  detail  with  which 
it  is  neither  wise  nor  profitable  to  burden  this  history.  The 
military  critic  would  doubtless  find  in  the  organic  life  and  ser- 
vice of  each  of  these  companies  much  both  to  make  and  to 
mar.  Possibly  such  critic  could  select,  with  little  difficulty, 
the  Company  which  manifests  the  highest  excellence  and  is 
worthy  of  the  highest  reputation,  all  things  considered.  But 
the  citizens  of  Scranton,  while  they  have  always  formed  them- 
selves into  four  divisions,  with  more  or  less  distinctness,  as 
they  have  looked  upon  the  march  of  the  Regiment,  have 
nevertheless  looked  upon  the  whole  as  the  march  of  their  own 
noble  boys,  who  constitute  the  City  Guard. 


292  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Each  company  has  its  own  worthy  record,  and  in  the  eyes  o( 
its  friends;  its  marks  of  striking  superiority.  The  officers  have 
changed  constantly  in  all  the  companies.  Company  C,  alone, 
was  commanded  by  the  same  captain  during  the  full  term  of 
five  years ;  and  in  this  company  he  was  the  only  officer  who 
remained  in  his  place  throughout  that  term.  Captain  Henry 
A.  Coursen,  a  veteran  of  the  war,  is  the  only  officer  of  the 
line  who  served  the  full  term  of  his  commission  without 
change  of  position,  in  the  first  five  years  of  the  service  of 'the 
Guard.  At  the  close  of  his  five  years'  service  he  graduated, 
very  naturally,  into  the  Field,  becoming  the  worthy  Major  of 
the  Regiment. 

Company  C  took  the  trophy  which  was  offered  for  the  best 
drilled  company ;  to  be  determined  by  competitive  drills  in 
three  consecutive  years.  Companies  A  and  D  entered  the 
lists  with  it,  and  did  excellent  work.  Company  A  lost  the  tro- 
phy only  by  perhaps  "a  point,"  or  "a  point  and  a  half,"  in  the 
three  years'  contest,  according  to  the  decision  of  the  Judges. 
It  has  always  been  supposed  since,  that  an  equal  number  of 
equally  as  intelligent  and  impartial  judges  would  as  readily 
have  given  the  winning  point  to  the  defeated  company.  So 
the  matter  has  ever  stood..  The  question  still  remains  unde- 
cided in  the  mind  of  the  spectators  and  citizens  generally,  as 
to  whether  A  or  C  is  the  best  drilled  company  in  the  Guard. 
Company  A  has  made  the  widest  reputation  by  entering  into 
the  contests  with  the  renowned  companies  of  the  nation.  They 
won  the  second  prize  in  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
contests,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore. 

Company  C  has  done  the  same  sort  of  work  to  a  more 
limited  extent,  and  has  won  a  more  excellent  local  reputation 
perhaps,  undera  strict  construction  of  the  tactics.  In  the  bayo- 
net drill  and  exercise  it  has  certainly  surpassed.  Both  of 
these  companies  have — the  one  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Louis  A.   Watres,  and  the  other  under  that  of    Captain 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      293 

James  Moir — received  the  highest  compliments  from  some  of 
the  best  and  highest  military  authorities  of  -the  State. 

Company  C — This  company  was  commanded  efficiently  for 
five  years  by  Captain  Coursen,  aided  by  very  efficient  lieuten- 
ants,'_L.  A.  Watres,  T.  F.  Penman  and  E.  J.  Dimmick.  When 
Captain  Coursen  was  promoted,  Lieut.  Penman  was  commis- 
sioned Captain.  He  proved  himself  an  efficient  and  successful 
officer  in  all  the  positions  he  has  held  in  the  National  Guard. 
He  commanded  the  company  but  one  year  when  he  was  pro- 
moted to  a  position  on  the  Brigade  Staff,  with  the  rank  of  Ma- 
jor. Captain  Penman  was  succeeded  by  James  Moir,  who  had 
come  up  from  the  ranks,  through  most  of  the  non-commis- 
sioned offices,  to  the  highest  position  the  company  had  to  give. 
There  has  been  no  more  efficient  or  successful  officer  in  the 
Guard  than  Captain  Moir.  Equally  ready  as  file-closer,  color- 
guard,  sergeant,  lieutenant  or  captain,  he  has  always  carried 
about  with  him  such  a  genial  spirit,  and  manly  devotion  to 
duty,  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  now  commands  one  of  the 
best  drilled  companies  in  the  nation.  Without  friction,  or 
complaint,  he  has  developed  the  highest  results ;  and  has 
shown  himself  capable  of  commanding  a  Regiment  with  about 
the  same  efficiency  that  he  had  led  his  Company.  The  genial 
Scot  is  a  combination  of  wisdom  and  wit,  which  has  proved  of 
great  value  to  the  City  Guard. 

Company  A  received  its  first  impress  from  Captain  Andrew 
Bryson,  who  commanded  it  during  the  first  year.  He  was  the 
best  qualified  captain  in  the  whole  Guard,  in  his  time  of  ser- 
vice, both  by  natural  endowments  for  the  service  and  by  the 
experience  of  a  military  education.  In  the  judgment  of  many, 
Captain  Bryson  has  never  been  surpassed  in  the  Guard  as  a 
drill  officer ;  and  his  discipline  gave  stamp  to  the  Company  as 
a  leading  feature  of  the  Regiment.  He  was  succeeded  by  Capt. 
Henry  A.  Knapp,  who  was  imbued  with  the  same  spirit,  and 
quickly  gained  a  power  of  command  equal  to  that  of  his  pre- 


294  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND    DEFENSE. 

decessor.  He  carried  the  company  forward  with  a  striking 
success,  and  was  very  popular  ;  but  being  without  taste  for  the 
position  of  Captain,  and  oppressed  with  the  details  of  the  ser- 
vice in  that  position,  he  resigned  his  commission  and  went  into 
the  ranks  ;  where  he  continued  as  a  faithful  private  until  1885, 
when  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major,  and  made  Judge 
Advocate  on  the  Brigade  Staff.  Louis  A.  Watres,  First  Lieu- 
tenant of  Company  C,  was  elected  to  fill  Captain  Knapp's 
place ;  and  under  his  efficient  command  the  Company  has 
reached  the  position,  when,  in  the  judgment  of  those  best  ac- 
quainted with  military  affairs,  it  is  said  to  be  second  to  no 
company  of  the  National   Guard,  in  any  of  the  States. 

Captain  Watres  very  quickly  developed  the  highest  quali- 
fications of  a  company  commander,  and  bound  his  company 
to  himself  in  the  strongest  bands.  This  Company  also  stands 
fully  abreast  with  Company  D  in  the  number  of  its  triumphs 
and  trophies,  won  on  the  rifle  range.  It  has  furnished  its  full 
proportion  of  men  for  the  Rifle  Teams  for  the  "International 
Contests."  It  stands  alone  in  the  whole  country  in  the  fact, 
that,  with  a  full  Company,  every  member  of  it  has  been  a 
qualified  marksman  at  seven  annual  inspections.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1887,  Capt.  Watres  resigned,  and  was  made  State  "  Inspec- 
tor of  rifle  practice,"  with  rank  as  Colonel ;  and  Lieut.  Charles 
C.  Mattes  was  elected  Captain.  Both  the  character  and  ser- 
vices of  Captain  Mattes  give  assurance  that  Company  A.  will 
still  hold  its  place  of  honor  and  efficiency. 

Company  D,  formed  originally  of  the  best  material  the  city- 
could  afford,  to  give  force  and  stability,  as  well  as  high  charac- 
ter, to  the  Guard  ;  moved  steadily  forward  from  the  time  of  its 
organization.  It  furnished  a  large  number  of  men  to  fill  the 
offices  of  the  Field  and  Staff;  both  for  the  Regiment  and 
the  Brigade.  It  never  reached  a  very  high  degree  of  perfec- 
tion in  "Company  movement,"  or  of  proficiency  in  the  manual 
of  arms.     Indeed  it  never  deemed  it  of  importance  to  try.     It 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  -SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      295 

never  fell  below  the  position  of  respectability  in  any  of  the  du- 
ties of  the  service.  In  the  use  of  the  rifle  this  Company  has, 
from  the  first  year,  contested  with  Company  A  the  honor 
of  standing  at  the  head  of  all  the  companies  of  the  State.  No 
year  has  passed  without  its  carrying  off  some  trophy  from  the 
rifle  range,  although  in  all  the  years  Company  A  has  given  it 
but  a  small  margin  for  any  of  its  victories.  In  the  number 
and  character  of  the  prizes  won,  and  the  grade  of  marksman- 
ship displayed,  these  two  companies  may  be  recorded  as  fairly 
equal. 

Company  D  was  efficiently  commanded  by  Captain  Ripple 
until  he  was  elected  Major  of  the  Regiment,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Lieutenant  James  A.  Linen.  Captain  Linen  proved 
an  equally  efficient  commander,  but  after  a  year's  service  the 
burdens  of  his  business  and  the  details  of  his  work  as  Captain 
of  the  Company  grew  too  burdensome  to  be  endured.  Like 
Captain  Knapp,  he  resigned  the  captaincy  and  went  into  the 
ranks,  where  he  served  out  his  full  term  of  enlistment.  Cap- 
tain Linen  was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant  Samuel  Hines,  who 
commanded  the  company  with  the  same  steadiness  and  effi- 
ciency. His  reputation  as  a  genial  and  efficient  officer  was 
soon  established  in  the  whole  Brigade.  As  a  worthy  gentle- 
man and  faithful  soldier,  no  officer  of  the  line  ever  stood  higher 
in  the  community  or  in  the  Regiment  than  Captain  Hines.  He 
served  out  his  term  of  enlistment,  and  was  succeeded  in  the 
command  of  the  company  by  Lieutenant  George  B.  Thompson ; 
of  whom  it  is  enough  to  say  that,  from  the  first  year  he  has 
held  position  on  all  the  "rifle  teams,"  Regimental  and  State, 
in  the  International  Matches;  and  that  in  September  of  1886 
he  made,  in  an  individual  match  at  Creedmoor,  the  only  com- 
plete score  on  record ;  score  of  50  out  of  a  possible  50.  The 
Company  under  command  of  Captain  Thompson  has  kept  the 
reputation  gained  under  his  predecessors,  and  moved  on  stead- 
ily enjoying  the  confidence  of  the  whole  Brigade.    In  January, 


296  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

1 887,  Captain  Thompson  resigned,  after  fully  nine  years'  ser- 
vice in  the  Guard,  and  Wm.  A.  May,  a  former  lieutenant  of 
Company  D,  was  chosen  Captain.  From  his  well-known 
ability  and  enterprise  the  friends  of  Company  D  augur  a  de- 
cided advance  in  both  the  work  and  reputation  of  the  Com- 
pany under  his  command. 

Company  B  was  originally  constituted  of  as  excellent  ma- 
terial as  any  company  of  the  Guard,  and  it  developed  many 
characteristics  and  excellencies  of  a  first-class  military  organ- 
ization in  the  service.  It  furnished  its  proportion  of  marks- 
men for  the  Regimental  and  State  Teams  for  the  international 
matches ;  and,  through  a  course  of  years,  presented  the  fullest 
company  for  encampment,  and  inspection.  Yet  it  is  apparent 
that  the  Company  has  hardly  fulfilled,  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  its  friends,  the  excellent  promise  of  its  early  efforts.  It 
has  always  maintained  a  respectable  military  standing;  but 
the  conviction  of  the  officers  of  the  Regiment,  as  well  as 
of  a  large  number  of  its  own  best  members,  has  been  uniform, 
that  its  material  made  it  capable  of  a  much  more  advanced 
position  than  it  has  yet  occupied  in  the  National  Guard. 

Its  failure  to  stand  abreast  of  the  best  companies  of  the  State, 
and  Nation,  has  generally  been  thought  to  be  traceable  to  a 
neglect  of  that  strictness  and  minuteness  of  discipline  which  too 
many  have  deemed  both  unnecessary  and  irksome.  The  very 
things  which  had  so  much  to  do  in  developing  the  other  com- 
panies were  neglected,  or  suffered  to  be  passed  over  as  mere 
forms,  which  have  little  to  do  with  the  efficient  duties  of  the 
soldier.  But  perhaps  the  position  and  military  reputation  of 
Company  B  are  due  to  the  superiority  of  the  companies  with 
which  it  has  been  associated;  and  to  the  very  marked  advance- 
ment they  have  made,  rather  than  to  any  specific  defects  in  it- 
self. An  eclipse  may  be  as  effective  as  lack  of  light  in  the 
body  itself. 

The  first  commander  of  this  company  was  Captain  Merriam, 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  "  SCRANTON  CITY  GUARD."      297 

under  whom  it  was  organized.  He  had  served  as  an  efficient 
staff  officer  during  the  great  rebellion;  but  being  without  ex- 
perience as  an  Infantry  Captain,  he  did  not  remain  long  enough 
with  the  Guard  to  catch  the  spirit  of  discipline  and  devotion, 
necessary  to  impress  and  give  high  character  to  his  command. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Lieut.  Daniel  Bartholomew,  who  had 
served  as  a  cavalryman  through  the  four  years  rebellion. 
Captain  Bartholomew  was  a  good  soldier,  and  a  faithful  offi- 
cer, but  he  found  it  a  weary  work  to  infuse  his  command  with 
the  high  purpose  that  controlled  himself.  After  four  years  of 
service,  and  of  respectable  command,  he  resigned  his  commis- 
sion, respected  by  all  his  associates,  as  a  worthy  gentleman. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Lieut.  Wm.  Kellow,  who  was  also  a 
veteran  of  the  war.  Captain  Kellow  served  five  years,  the 
full  term  of  his  commission,  and  succeeded  in  keeping  the 
company  at  about  the  same  respectable  grade  of  discipline 
and  drill  in  which  it  was  left  by  his  predecessor.  Both  Cap- 
tains Kellow  and  Bartholomew  were,  during  the  whole  time 
of  their  command,  burdened  with  business  trusts,  which  neces- 
sarily limited  the  time  and  perplexed  the  services  they  were 
able  to  give  to  the  Guard. 

This  Company  has  been  favored  by  having,  in  long  terms  of 
service,  Lieuts.  H.  R.  Madison,  who  was  in  the  "firing  squad" 
of  August  i,  1877,  Wm.  S.  Millar  and  T.  J.  Williams,  all  of 
whom  have  been  devoted  to  the  best  interest  of  the  Company  ; 
and  have  proved  themselves  efficient  and  devoted  officers  in 
the  service  of  the  State.  The  Company,  at  the  present  writ- 
ing, is  in  a  transition,  which  gives  promise  of  a  new  advance, 
and  the  prophecy  that  there  will  be  an  early  march  to  the 
front,  on  the  part  of  Company  B,  is  becoming  distinct  all 
along  the  line. 

While  each  of  these  four  Companies  has  its  own  charac- 
teristics and  is  worthy  history;  it  is  when  they  have  marched 
together  and  formed  the  Battalion  that  their  highest  excellence 


298  A    CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

has  appeared.  These  generous  competitions  between  them 
have  only  lifted  them  all  into  more  conspicuous  efficiency; 
and  it  is  when  the  men  touch  elbow  on  the  march,  and  the 
cadence  of  their  step  awakes  the  attention  of  the  city,  that  the 
full  estimate  of  their  character  and  service  is  appreciated. 
Then  it  is,  that  the  city,  whatever  the  suspicion  of  danger  may 
be  in  the  air,  knows,  and  is  satisfied  with  its  defense  ;  for  these 
are  The  City's  Defenders. 


THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT  N.  G.  P.  299 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT   N.  G.  P. 

"  School  of  the  soldier  " — The  March — The  Camp — Evolution  and  Revolutions — 
Inspections  and  Expectations — Tracks  of  the  City  Guaid  in  the  State. 

THE  Thirteenth  Regiment  N.  G.  P.  was  organized  on  the 
ioth  of  October,  1878,  as  has  been  recorded ;  and  Major 
Henry  M.  Boies,  by  unanimous  choice,  was  commissioned 
its  Colonel  in  Command.  Upon  taking  command,  the  Colonel 
announced  his  determination,  with  emphatic  earnestness,  to 
enforce  the  strictest  discipline.  He  made  this  enforcement 
the  condition  of  his  continuance  in  the  position  ;  which  he  said 
he  had  accepted  only  from  a  sense  of  patriotic  duty.  With 
this  announcement  he  connected  the  promise,  that,  with  the 
continued  and  hearty  co-operation  of  the  officers  and  men,  he 
would  lead  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  to  the  very  front  of  the 
National  Guard ;  and  make  it,  if  not  the  best,  at  least  to  stand 
among  the  best  of  the  Regiments  of  the  citizen  soldiery  in  the 
Nation. 

In  accordance  with  this  laudable  aim,  he  immediately  set  to 
work  all  the  forces  within  his  command.  While  he  worked 
directly  to  secure  the  unification,  and  efficient  training,  of  the 
Thirteenth  Regiment;  he  looked  over  the  whole  field  of  the 
National  Guard,  and  discovered  many  hindrances  to  the  train- 
ing of  a  militia  worthy  of  the  State  and  Nation.  In  order  to  the 
proper  drilling  and  unification  of  his  own  Regiment  he 
printed  a  Manual,  which  he  entitled  "  A  Course  of  Twelve 
Lessons  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Officers  of  the  Thirteenth 


300  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

Regiment."  He  appointed  one  evening  of  every  month  for 
a  "  school  of  the  soldier."  At  this  school  he  required  the 
presence  of  all  the  officers  of  both  the  staff  and  line.  This 
Manual  was  intensely  practical;  and  proved  of  great  value  to 
all  the  officers  who  were  desirous  of  making  themselves 
worthy  of  the  positions  they  held. 

These  schools  of  the  soldier  were  conducted  with  a  variety 
of  exercises,  with  a  wise  reference,  both  to  perpetuating  interest 
in  the  subject,  and  to  bringing  out  all  the  latent  power  of  the 
officers.  Presiding  himself,  the  Colonel  appointed,  from  time 
to  time,  subjects  to  be  discussed  by  the  different  officers  of  the 
Field,  Staff  and  Line.  Thus;  to  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  was 
assigned  the  subject  of  "  street  fighting ;  "  "  the  column  of  at- 
tack upon  barricades  and  buildings  ;"  "  the  best  modes  of  pro- 
tection and  defense,"  etc. ;  to  the  Surgeons,  "  the  care  of  the 
sick  and  wounded  on  the  march  ; "  "  the  hygiene  of  the  camp  ;  " 
etc. ;  to  the  Major ;  "  the  arrest  and  disposition  of  prisoners  ;  " 
and  the  presentation  of  the  "best  papers  on  quelling  riots;" 
etc.  To  the  Adjutant  was  given  the  entire  range  of  clerical 
and  sedentary  duties  in  the  Regiment;  to  the  Chaplain,  "the 
moral  relations  and  responsibilities  of  officers  towards  the 
men;"  to  the  Inspector  of  rifle  practice,  the  whole  field  of  his 
duties,  while  to  the  "  Line  Officers,"  in  turn,  he  assigned,  by 
section,  the  whole  Manual  and  Tactics  as  subjects  of  exposition. 

The  success  of  this  experiment  was  quickly  demonstrated 
in  the  efficiency  of  the  men  in  command ;  and  in  the  general 
interest  created  in  the  regiment.  "  The  National  Guardsman? 
published  in  the  interest  of  the  National  Guard,  in  Philadel- 
phia, gave  an  exposition  of  Colonel  Boies's  method,  and  com- 
mended it  to  all  the  Regimental  Commanders  of  the  State. 
Rapid  progress  was  made  in  the  morale,  and  movement,  of  the 
Guard.  A  studied  variety  of  drills  and  exercises,  on  the  part 
of  company  commanders  increased  both,  the  interest  and  effi- 
ciency of  all  the  companies,  more  or  less,  but  especially  in  those 


THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT  N.  G.  P.  301 

of  the  Scranton  and  Honesdale  Guards.  By  the  energy,  and 
generous  sacrifice,  of  Major  Ripple  and  a  Committee  associated 
with  him,  the  Battalion  Band,  and  an  efficient  drum-corps  were 
organized ;  to  enliven  the  march  and  the  drill ;  as  well  as  to 
grace  the  public  receptions  which  were  at  this  time  necessary 
to  keep  active  the  interest  of  the  citizens  in  the  Guard.  The 
whole  work  was  thus  systematized  and  prosecuted  with  such 
persevering  energy  that,  in  three  months  after  the  organization 
of  the  Regiment;  when  an  inspection  of  the  Brigade  was  held 
at  Scranton,  conducted  by  the  Adjutant-General,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  General  Hartranft  and  his  staff,  the  Companies  all 
received  the  highest  commendation. 

The  uniform  selected  by  the  Guard ;  and  which  was  fur- 
nished them  by  the  kindness  of  their  friends,  was  that  of  the 
National  Army.  Their  appearance  at  this  inspection,  in  this 
uniform,  so  impressed  the  General  in  command  that  he  ex- 
pressed the  determination  to  place  the  whole  National  Guard 
in  the  State  in  the  same  uniform.  Within  two  years  this  was 
accomplished.  Previous  to  this  time  each  Company  had  se- 
lected its  own  uniform,  and  the  inspection  of  Regiments  was, 
in  general,  a  presentation  of  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow, 
strangely  blended,  and  all  the  feathers  of  the  barn-yard,  strik- 
ingly displayed. 

During  the  summer  of  1879  the  drill  and  discipline  were 
continued,  with  special  attention  to  the  Rifle  Practice.  All 
shooting  had  to  be  done  in  uniform  and  under  orders.  A 
variety  of  trophies  had  been  provided,  both  by  the  citizens  and 
by  the  Guard  itself,  and  the  "  outside  companies  "  were  en- 
couraged to  build  armories  and  set  up  rifle  ranges  for  them- 
selves. The  State  authorities  were  induced  to  provide  Marks- 
men's Badges  to  be  presented  to  "  qualified  marksmen,"  and 
to  be  worn  in  the  service  by  all  who  should  qualify  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  the  National  Rifle  Association.  These 
badges  consisted  of  a  circular  medal,  or  bronze  disk,  attached 


302  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

to  a  bar,  by  which  it  was  fastened  to  the  coat.  On  this  medal 
was  the  monogram  "  N.  G.  P."  upon  one  side ;  and  upon  the 
other  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  State.  For  each  successive 
year  a  bar  was  attached  to  the  medal,  upon  which  was  placed 
the  word  "  Marksman ;  "  with  the  year  of  the  qualification. 
Thus  the  movement  to  connect  the  rifle  practice  with  the 
training  of  the  soldier,  which  was  inaugurated  by  the  Scran- 
ton  City  Guard  at  its  own  expense,  was,  within  two  years, 
accepted  by  the  State,  and  was  soon  made  universal  in  the 
National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  results  of  the  encampment  of  Company  A  in  August 
of  1878  demonstrated  the  use  of  such  encampments  ;  and  the 
wide  separation  of  the  companies  which  composed  the  Thir- 
teenth Regiment  demonstrated  their  necessity.  If  any  real 
unity  or  efficiency  was  to  be  secured  in  the  organization,  the 
Regiment  must  be  placed  in  a  camp  for  drill  and  instruction, 
at  least  once  a  year,  during  a  week  or  ten  days.  These  com- 
panies had  never  been  together,  except  at  an  inspection,  and 
therefore  had  enjoyed  no  opportunity  of  drilling  together.  The 
State  had  made  no  appropriations  to  meet  the  expenses  of  an 
encampment ;  and  no  provision  had  been  made,  in  all  the 
years  since  the  war,  for  the  instruction  of  a  citizen  soldiery  by 
placing  Regiments  in  encampments. 

The  Colonel  therefore  determined,  in  the  summer  of  1879, 
to  place  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  under  canvas  at  its  own 
expense.  In  order  to  do  this  it  was  necessary  to  select  a 
time  when  the  business  of  the  men  would  be  least  interfered 
with ;  and  a  place  for  the  encampment  which  would  be  suf- 
ficiently attractive  to  induce  both  officers  and  men  to  go  into 
it  without  pay. 

The  time  selected  was  August  21st — a  date  as  near  as 
convenient  to  the  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  City 
Guard;  and  the  place  for  the  encampment  was  the  sea-shore 
at  Long  Branch,  New  Jersey.     After  selecting  this  point,  the 


THE  THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT  N.  G.  P.  303 

Colonel  secured  the  free  transportation  of  the  Regiment 
through  the  kindness  of  the  authorities  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western ;  the  New  Jersey  Central ;  the  Del- 
aware and  Hudson;  and  the  Erie  Railways.  Presidents 
Sloan,  Dickson,  Jewett,  and  Receiver  Lathrop,  always  treated 
the  Thirteenth  Regiment  with  great  consideration  and 
generosity.  At  five  o'clock,  p.m.,  August  21st,  after  a  de- 
lightful excursion  under  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hitchcock,  the  Regiment  went  into  camp  at  Long  Branch ; 
their  tents  having  been  pitched  by  an  advanced  guard,  under 
the  inspection  of  the  Colonel  himself.  Each  man  had  pro- 
vided himself,  under  orders,  with  one  day's  cooked  rations, 
and  the  Commissary,  Captain  Kingsbury,  provided  all  other 
rations  from  the  market  in  New  York.  These  supplies  were 
regularly  issued  each  day,  from  the  first  day  in  camp,  and 
each  company  cooked  its  own  rations. 

A  regular  routine  of  camp  duty  was  instituted  the  day  the 
encampment  began ;  and  was  carried  out  throughout  the 
seven  days  with  military  precision.  Every  department  was 
reduced  to  order,  and  military  discipline  was  strictly  adminis- 
tered. The  drills  were  conducted  as  the  regular  business  of 
the  encampment,  notwithstanding  the  bad  weather,  which 
prevailed  about  half  the  time.  Both  officers  and  men  greatly 
enjoyed,  and  quickly  learned,  their  unaccustomed  duties,  al- 
though the  camp  contained  no  suggestion  of  a  holiday.  The 
improvement  in  all  the  Companies  became  manifest  in  two 
days'  exercise.  The  attendance  at  the  camp  was  a  little  over 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  membership  of  the  Regi- 
ment; and  the  results  of  the  encampment  were  reported  by 
the  Colonel  to  the  State  authorities  as  entirely  beyond  his 
highest  anticipations.  The  total  cost  of  the  support  of  the 
seven  days'  encampment,  that  is,  of  the  rations  for  the  men, 
was  $932.85  ;  or  at  the  rate  of  thirty-six  and  a  quarter  cents 
per  day  for  each  man.     By  this  experiment  the  Colonel  de- 


304  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

monstrated  the  possibility  of  sustaining  the  National  Guard  in 
a  "Camp  of  Instruction"  without  oppression  to  taxpayers;  who 
hitherto  had  concluded  that  the  maintenance  of  the  militia,  on 
a  peace  basis,  meant  the  training  of  a  National  Guard  without 
farther  expense  than  the  traveling  expenses  of  Guard  Officers. 

The  report  of  the  Colonel  of  this  encampment  was  made 
the  basis  of  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  State  to  establish  an 
Annual  Encampment  for  the  whole  division  of  the  National 
Guard;  either  as  a  whole,  or  by  Brigades,  or  by  Regiments. 
The  advantages  of  encampment  were  so  clearly  demonstrated 
that  the  State  authorities  took  the  matter  up  the  succeeding 
winter;  and  encampments  were  ordered,  and  provided  for,  the 
next  year.  They  have  now  become  a  part  of  the  annual  duty 
of  the  Guard  of  the  whole  State.  The  experience  and  drill  of 
the  week's  encampment,  once  a  year,  have  not  only  given  an 
excellent  training  to  all  the  Regiments,  but  have  afforded  a 
healthful  and  grateful  recreation  both  to  officers  and  men. 

The  order,  quiet,  and  military  exercises,  of  Camp  Hoyt,  at 
Long  Branch,  made  a  decidedly  favorable  impression  upon 
the  multitude  of  visitors  at  that  great  watering-place.  The 
press,  both  religious  and  secular,  heralded  the  excellence  of 
the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  of  the  National  Guards  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, all  over  the  country. 

The  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  camp  was  especially  rec- 
ognized, to  the  high  credit  both  of  the  commander  and  of  the 
men.  The  order  of  the  Colonel,  which  was  strictly  carried 
out,  is  here  recorded  as  worthy  of  preservation  and  of  imita- 
tion by  commanders  of  troops  in  camp  anywhere,  under  a 
Christian  Government  in  time  of  peace.     It  was  as  follows: 

"Headquarters  Thirteenth  Regiment,  Camp  Hoyt, 

"  Long  Branch,  New  Jersey,  Aug.  21st,  1879. 
"  General  Order  No.  18. 

"Until  otherwise  ordered  by  superior  authority,  the  Sabbath  day  will 
be  observed  by  this  Regiment,  or  any  part  of  it,  in  camp  for  the  purpose 


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THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT  N.  G.  P.  305 

of  drill  and  instruction,  as  a  Christian  Sabbath  of  rest,  quiet  and  re- 
ligious service.  Undress  guard  mounting  will  replace  the  dress  guard 
mount ;  and  undress  parade  the  dress  parade.  The  usual  Sunday  In- 
spection will  be  made  immediately  after  recall  from  morning  drill,  on 
Monday.  All  drill  calls  will  be  intermitted.  Church  Call  will  sound 
at  10.30  a.m.,  when  the  band,  if  present  with  its  instruments,  arid  the 
companies  without  arms,  will  fall  in,  answer  roll-call,  and  be  conducted 
by  their  officers  to  the  place  selected  for  divine  service. 

"This  departure  from  the  usual  Sunday  routine  in  the  army  is  made 
possible,  and  proper,  by  the  nature  of  our  service  as  citizen  soldiers. 
We  are  National  Guardsmen  for  the  protection  and  defense  of  American 
institutions  ;  of  which  there  is  none  more  vitally  connected  with  our  his- 
tory from  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  to  the  present  time,  or  more  essen- 
tial to  our  national  welfare,  or  dearer  to  the  heart  of  the  patriot,  than 
the  American  Christian  Sabbath.  Let  it  therefore  be  observed  by  the 
Regiment  in  such  a  manner  as  shall  best  preserve  its  sacred  integrity,  in 
accordance  with  the  command  of  God,  by  the  cessation  of  all  works 
except  of  necessity   and  mercy. 

"  By  order  of  Henry  M.  Boies, 

"Colonel. 

"  R.  Macmillan, 

"Adjutant.'' 

This  order  was  strictly  carried  out.  All  drills  and  the 
usual  Sunday  inspection  were  omitted.  At  10.30  the  whole 
Regiment  attended  divine  service  conducted  by  the  Chaplain; 
and  in  the  evening  a  voluntary  religious  service  was  con- 
ducted, greatly  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  officers  and  men  ;  and 
in  the  afternoon  a  Sabbath  class  was  conducted  in  the  tent  of 
the  Chaplain.  The  whole  camp  was,  throughout  the  Sabbath, 
as  quiet  as  the  best  Christian  village  in  the  country;  and  as  a 
consequence  the  whole  moral  tone  of  the  Regiment  was  de- 
cidedly elevated. 

No  intoxicating  drinks  were  allowed  in  the  camp,  and  so- 
briety and  true  manhood  marked  the  conduct  of  officers  and 
men,  almost  without  exception.  It  is  due  to  this  Regiment  to 
record  the  fact  that,  whenever  it  has  been  permitted  to  camp 
by  itself,  this  order  for  Sabbath  observance  has  been  strictly 
enforced;  and  that  by  common  consent,  even  without  military 
20 


306  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

orders,  the  visible  use  of  intoxicants  has  ever  been  forbidden. 
The  Chaplain  has  been  actively  and  kindly  sustained  in  his 
office  through  ten  years  of  service,  and  has  enjoyed  the  re- 
spect and  the  kind  offices  of  both  officers  and  men  through 
the  whole  time.  There  is  no  regiment  in  the  service  that  has 
maintained  a  higher  or  more  consistent  moral  standing;  and 
in  this  fact  the  Commonwealth  has  the  assurance  of  its  re- 
liability and  true  value  as  a  part  of  its  National  Guard. 

The  entirely  inadequate  provisions  made  by  the  State  to 
furnish  itself  with  a  Guard  of  real  value,  as  a  military  organiza- 
tion, were  found  to  be  the  greatest  hindrance  to  the  rapid  and 
high  training  of  the  men.  The  officers  of  the  Thirteenth 
Regiment  very  early  discovered  that  they  had  a  mission  out- 
side of  their  own  command,  if  they  would  make  that  command 
successful.  It  would  seem,  that  if  the  Legislature  considered 
it  worth  while  to  maintain  an  organized  militia,  it  ought  to 
make  such  provision  for  the  comfort,  and  training,  of  the  offi- 
cers and  men ;  and  provide  such  pay  for  their  services,  as 
might  induce  good  and  worthy  men  to  march  in  the  ranks, 
as  well  as  to  wear  the  clothes  of  official  position.  Having 
demonstrated  by  a  week's  encampment  how  cheaply  the 
work  could  be  done,  the  Colonel  of  the  Thirteenth  in  his 
report  urged  upon  the  higher  military  authorities  the  plan  of 
making  annual  encampments,  for  instruction.  In  order  to 
awaken  a  general  interest  among  the  people,  and  so  lead  the 
Legislature  to  make  the  necessary  appropriations,  and  enact 
necessary  laws,  he  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  best 
men  in  the  country,  both  in  the  State  and  out  of  it.  The 
laws  were  so  inadequate,  and  the  interest  in  the  whole  subject 
was  so  slight,  that  the  arms  and  equipments  provided  for  the 
citizen  soldiery  were  in  many  cases  unfit  for  use.  For  the  Spring 
Inspection,  which  was  ordered  in  April,  1879,  no  appropria- 
tion was  made  to  meet  the  necessary  expenses.  The  orders 
v/ere  issued  for  the  inspection  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  at 


THE  THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT  N.  G.  P.  307 

Scranton.    In  order  to  an  obedience  to  this  order,  the  Colonel 
was  compelled  to  bring  the  outside  companies  to  report  in 
the  city.     He  did  so ;  and  the  Regiment  was  inspected  by  the 
officers  sent  by  the  Adjutant-General.     As  transportation  cer- 
tificates had  not  been  sent  to  these  outside  Companies  from 
Harrisburgh,  from  whence  the  order  was  issued  for  the  inspec- 
tion, the  Colonel  supposed  they  had  been  simply  delayed  ;  and 
to  avoid  a  delay  of  the  inspection,  he  gave  his  personal  guar- 
antee to  the  railway  companies  for  the  transportation,  and  sent 
on  the  papers,  in  regular  order,  after  the  inspection  was  over. 
He  explained  to  the  inspecting  officers,  on  the  ground,  all  the 
difficulties  of  the  case,  and  told  them  how  he  had  met  them  in 
order  to  obey  the  inspection  order.     He  was  surprised  in  the 
following  November  to  have  these  papers  returned  to  him  as 
disallowed,  and  accompanied  with  the  broad  inference  that  he 
had    transcended    his    authority,   and    hence   would    have   to 
pay  the  transportation  in  question  himself;  because  the  appro- 
priation of  the  State  was  not  sufficient  to  transport  the  four 
companies  ordered  to  the  inspection  ;   of  which  fact,  it  was  said, 
"  the  Colonel  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  must  be  well  aware." 
The  Colonel,  surprised,  grieved,  and  indignant,  still  held  to 
what  would  seem    his  logical   conclusion ;  that  if  the  State 
had  authorized  the  inspection,  and  thus  had  made  proper  the 
Brigadier's  command,  which  had  ordered  it,  it  must  thereby 
have  equally  authorized  the  expenses  necessary  to  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  order.      He  promptly  tendered  his  resignation. 
The  justice  and  manliness  of  his  course  was  at  once  appre- 
ciated both  by  the  Regiment  and  by  their  friends  in  the  city. 
But  it  was  manifest  to  all   interested  in  the  City  Guard,  that 
Colonel  Boies'  resignation  at  such  a  juncture,  with  the  Regi- 
ment just  formed  and  not  yet  unified;  and  the  heavy  debt  upon 
the  armory  unprovided  for,  must  be  disastrous.     Until  the 
organization  could  be  fully  established,  it  was  the  judgment 
of  all  that  the  commanding  officer,  who  had  spent  his  money 


308  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

so  freely,  and  given  his  services  so  efficiently,  could  not  be 
spared.  The  officers  of  the  regiment  presented  to  him  at 
once,  upon  his  announcement  of  the  fact  and  cause  of  his 
resignation,  an  earnest  request,  unanimously  signed,  to  recall 
this  resignation.  The  case  was  so  clear  that  they  felt  that  the 
Colonel  could  afford  to  pass  over  the  indignity  with  a  mere 
publication  of  the  state  of  facts.  The  Chaplain  proceeded  to 
call  a  meeting  of  the  leading  citizens  and  chief  business  men, 
then  in  the  city,  to  consider  the  exigency.  This  meeting  in- 
vestigated the  whole  case  and  appointed  a  committee,  consist- 
ing of  Messrs.  H.  S.  Pierce,  William  R.  Storrs  and  S.  C.  Lo- 
gan, to  address  a  letter  to  Colonel  Boies,  expressing  their 
views  of  the  result  of  such  resignation,  and  urging  him  to 
recall  it.     The  letter,  in  part,  was  as  follows  : 


"Colonel  H.  M.  Boies, 

"Dear  Sir:  The  undersigned  citizens  of  Scranton  having  learned 
that  you  had  felt  constrained  to  resign  your  command  of  the  Thirteenth 
Regiment,  N.  G.  P.,  held  a  meeting  some  time  since,  specially  to  con- 
sider the  effect  of  such  resignation  upon  the  interests  of  the  City  Guard. 

"  We  are  of  one  mind,  that  your  refusal  to  longer  continue  in  this  po- 
sition will  be  disastrous  to  this  organization,  and  will  speedily  result  in 
its  losing  its  high  character  ;  thus  alienating  the  confidence  of  our  best 
people  from  it. 

"We  have  examined  into  the  facts  of  the  case  and  are  fully  persuaded 
that,  upon  a  guarantee  that  the  bills  of  the  Spring  Inspection  shall  be 
paid,  without  in  any  way  touching  your  honor,  or  reflecting  upon  the 
justice  of  your  course  in  tendering  your  resignation,  you  can  honorably 
withdraw  it. 

"  Such  a  guarantee  we  are  able  to  give  you,  and  we,  therefore,  as  your 
friends  and  fellow-citizens,  highly  appreciating  your  services  and  the 
delicacy  of  your  position,  do  most  earnestly  request  you  to  withdraw 
your  resignation  at  once." 

This  letter  was  signed  by  ninety  of  the  prominent  citizens 
of  the  city,  whose  names  we  have  recorded,  as  a  memorial  of 
these  times  in  the  history  of  the  city  itself,  and  as  a  just  recog- 


THE  THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT   N.  G.  P. 


309 


nition  of  the  men  who  made  the  greatest  of  the  sacrifices  for 
the  benefit,  and  establishment,  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard. 
They  are  as  follows  : 


H.  S.  Pierce,    ") 
S.  C.  Logan,      ) 


W.  R.  Storrs,  i>  Citizens1  Committee: 


U.  G.  Schoonmaker, 
Isaac  L.  Post, 
W.  H.  Perkins, 
Thomas  Moore, 
J.  L.  Fordham, 
Joseph  Godfrey, 
S.  Grant, 
R.  A.  Squire, 
E.  N.  Willard, 
R.  J.  Matthews, 
W.  W.  Manness, 
Fred.  W.  Gunster, 
G.  W.  Fritz, 
J.  A.  Price, 
N.  H.  Shafer, 

C.  F.  Mattes, 

E.  P.  Kingsbury, 
A.  G.  Gilmore, 
J.  A.  Scranton, 
R.  T.  Black, 
James  Blair, 
William  Frink, 
H.  V.  D.  Smith, 
Thomas  Livey, 
L.  S.  Fuller, 
M.  E.  Stowers, 
G.  L.  Dickson, 

D.  N.  Green, 
Herbert  Russell, 
Garrett  Bogart, 

E.  B.  Sturges, 
Horace  B.  Phelps, 
John  Jermyn, 
Edward  C.  Lynde, 


W.  F.  Hallstead, 
Charles  A.  Stevens, 
John  U.  Reed, 
George  H.  Catlin, 

F.  S.  Pauli, 

C.  A.  Conklin, 
Thomas  M.  Cann, 
John  D.  Fuller, 
H.  A.  Kingsbury, 
A.  B.  Stevens, 
George  Sanderson, 

G.  W.  Bushnell, 
George  A.  Jessup, 
George  Fisher, 

J.  M.  Chittenden, 
A.  H.  Coursen, 
Charles  P.  Matthews, 
John  C.  Phelps, 
J.  F.  Snyder, 
I.  J.  Post, 
H.  A.  Vail, 
Corydon  H.  Welles, 
E.  C.  Fuller, 
J.  R.  Davis, 
R.  W.  Archbald, 
A.  H.  Vandling, 
W.  B.  Culver, 
A.  M.  Decker, 
L.  Lindley, 
W.  H.  Storrs, 
Joseph  J.  Albright, 
W.  H.  Richmond, 
W.  W.  Scranton, 
H.  C.  Cornell, 


310 


A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


J.  C.  Piatt, 
W.  T.  Smith, 
N.  A.  Hurlbert, 

H.  M.  Hannah, 
Austin  Moore, 
James  Woolsey, 
E.  Merrifield, 
Ed.  L.  Buck, 
E.  W.  Weston, 


C.  E.  Judson. 


R.  W.  Olmstead, 
Samuel  P.  Reed, 
Dwight  Baker, 
James  Merrill, 
Sidney  Broadbent, 
William  Connell, 
H.  Battin, 
James  W.  Fowler, 
N.  Y.  Leet,  M.D. 


These  were  the  signatures  of  the  leading  citizens  of  that  day 
in  the  city,  who  had  charge  of  its  business,  and  in  great  mea- 
sure gave  character  to  its  enterprise,  as  well  as  moral  type  to 
its  history  and  public  institutions.  Almost  without  ex- 
ception they  stand  as  the  illustrious  names  in  the  life  of  the  city. 

The  adjustment  secured  by  these  citizens  through  theircom- 
mittee  removed  the  delicate  difficulties,  and  enabled  the  Colo- 
nel to  yield  to  the  judgment  of  the  officers  of  the  Guard,  and  of 
the  citizens  so  emphatically  expressed.  He  at  once  withdrew 
his  resignation,  and  entered  only  the  more  earnestly  upon  the 
work,  from  the  earnest  endorsement  which  he  had  received. 
He  continued  his  efforts  to  create  a  wise,  and  more  general,  in- 
terest in  the  National  Guard.  In  his  reply  to  the  appeal  of  the 
officers  of  the  Regiment  and  to  the  citizens  of  Scranton  to  re- 
call his  resignation,  he  said,  in  reference  to  the  general  question 
of  having  a  citizen  soldiery:  "The  more  attention  I  give  to 
this  subject  the  more  impressed  I  am  with  the  grave  import- 
ance, not  only  to  this  community,  but  to  every  community  in 
the  whole  country,  and  to  republican  institutions,  of  an  effi- 
cient citizen  soldiery.  This  must  be  composed  of  honorable 
and  patriotic  young  men ;  willing  to  devote  much  time  to  learn- 
ing and  discharging  their  duties.  To  keep  such  men  in#the*ser- 
vicethey  must  be  encouraged  by  the  appreciation  of  their  fellow- 
citizens.  They  must  be  able  to  take,  pride  in  their  uniform, 
and  enabled  to  enjoy  the  honor  of  wearing  it.     Until  our  leg- 


THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT  N.  G.  P.  311 

islators  are  educated  to  a  statesmanlike  sense  of  what  is  re- 
quired for  the  proper  support  of  the  National  Guard,  it  will 
largely  devolve  upon  those  citizens  who  do  appreciate  the  ser- 
vice to  sustain  it." 

In  this  desire  to  make  the  excellence  of  the  13th  Regiment 
a  power,  for  the  lifting  up  of  the  whole  Guard  of  the  State,  both 
officers  and  men  cordially  agreed  with  him  ;  and  he  never 
lacked  an  earnest  support  from  them  all,  in  the  schemes  which 
he  afterwards  devised  and  attempted  to  that  end. 

On  the  6th  of  December,  1879,  a  statement  was  published 
in  the  newspapers,  showing  the  beggarly  provision  hitherto 
made  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  meet  the  necessary  ex- 
penses of  its  Guard;  which,  to  each  of 'the  regimental  organi- 
zations, amounted  to  five  hundred  dollars  to  a  Company  for 
uniforms;  two  hundred  for  armory  rent;  and  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  dollars  for  Headquarters  expenses.  To  all  this  was 
added  one  day's  pay,  at  $1.50  to  each  man  who  passed  in- 
spection This  showing  was  placed  in  contrast  with  the  pro- 
vision made  by  the  State  of  New  York.  By  this  publication 
an  excellent  impression  was  made  upon  the  public  generally  ; 
and  the  attention  of  many  people  was  turned  to  the  necessities 
of  the  Guard.  In  May  of  1880  Colonel  Boies  also  published 
an  able  article  in  "Harper's  Magazine,"  entitled,  "Our  Na- 
tional Guard,"  in  which  he  elaborated  in  outline  a  plan  by 
which  each  congressional  district  in  the  United  States  might 
have  a  first-class  Regiment ;  and  the  whole  be  jointly  sustained 
by  the  General  and  State  Governments.  Upon  this  scheme  he 
corresponded  with  many  of  the  best  military  men  in  the  coun- 
try, and  among  them  with  General  William  T.  Sherman,  who 
expressed  sincere  interest  in  the  proposition. 

In  the  same  summer  an  invitation  was  sent  from  the  officers 
of  the  13th.  to  all  the  officers  of  the  Guard  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  to  meet  in  convention  at  Philadelphia,  on  a  des- 
ignated day ;  to  consider  the  necessities  of  the  National  Guard 


312  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

and  to  devise  means  for  its  efficiency.  A  large  number  of 
these  officers  responded  favorably,  and  met  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed. They  organized  by  placing  Gen.  James  A.  Beaver  in 
the  chair,  who  called  upon  Colonel  Boies  to  explain  the  ob- 
jects of  the  Convention.  He  did  so  in  an  able  and  interesting 
address,  in  which  he  called  attention  to  the  legislation  which 
he  deemed  to  be  necessary  in  order  to  the  placing  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  on  an  efficient  footing.  He  also  spoke  of  the  de- 
sirability of  attempting  to  secure  Congressional  aid,  and  of 
connecting  the  National  Guard  of  the  different  States  with  the 
General  Government ;  at  least  in  so  far  as  to  have  appointed 
retired  officers  of  the  United  States  Army,  to  inspect  and  drill 
all  its  regiments  in  the  annual  encampments.  The  Colonel 
was  listened  to  with  great  interest,  and  cheered  with  warm  en- 
thusiasm. This  military  Convention  determined  to  invite,  and 
send  delegates  to,  a  convention  of  representative  officers  from 
the  Guard  of  all  the  States,  to  meet  in  New  York  City  in  the 
following  January.  It  also  appointed  a  committee  to  examine 
the  military  code  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to  secure,  if  practicable, 
such  amendments  to  it  as  the  present  conditions  of  the  service 
would  seem  to  demand.  This  committee  was  charged  to  press 
upon  the  Legislature  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  such  appro- 
priations as  are  necessary  to  secure  permanent  organization, 
and  efficiency  of  the  National  Guard.  In  this  whole  movement 
the  officers  of  the  13th  Regiment  were  the  movers;  and  the 
Colonel  was  appointed  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  National 
Convention,  which  was  called  to  meet  in  New  York  City. 

Thus,  from  the  very  organization  of  the  13th  Regiment,  the 
effort  was  made  to  extend  its  influence  and  identify  it  with  all 
intelligent  movements  to  secure  the  increased  value  and  per- 
manence of  the  National  Guard.  At  the  same  time  unremit- 
ting efforts  were  continued  to  make  it  worthy  to  be  such  a  leader. 

The  drill  and  march,  the  rifle  practice  and  the  annual  en- 
campment, with  all  the  sacrifices  of  time  and  money,  this  Reg- 


/•*  urn jQwrnA/wrfi- 
t"iJCi/r  t  pint  KJnCf/jHritZi 


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THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT   N.  G.  P.  313 

i merit  has  cheerfully  borne.  Officers  and  men  have  faithfully 
fulfilled  their  terms  of  service;  only  to  give  place  to  their  suc- 
cessors, who  were  imbued  with  the  same  patriotic  spirit  and 
ready  for  the  same  sacrifices  for  the  public  good.  The  Regi- 
ment still  marches  on,  holding  the  honors  of  the  past,  and 
yearly  gaining  new  laurels  in  the  fields  of  military,  and  patri- 
otic, duty. 

In  October,  1883,  Colonel  Boies  completed  his  term  of  ser- 
vice, and  declined  a  re-election  ;  upon  his  announced  conviction 
that  the  good  of  the  service  at  large  requires  that  the  stream  of 
promotion  shall  be  kept  constantly  flowing  in  the  National 
Guard;  and  that  no  commanding  officer,  however  efficient  or 
popular,  should  allow  himself  to  check  it. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Hitchcock  was  unanimously  chosen  to 
succeed  to  the  command.  Major  E.  H.  Ripple  was  promoted 
to  the  Lieutenant-Colonelcy ;  and  Captain  H.  A.  Coursen  was 
commissioned  Major. 

Colonel  Hitchcock  has  proved  a  worthy  successor  in  the 
command.  Always  a  gentleman,  and  with  a  record  for  mili- 
tary service,  both  in  the  Great  Rebellion  and  in  the  National 
Guard,  as  an  able  officer  as  well  as  a  Christian  patriot,  he  has 
marched  the  Regiment  steadily  forward.  Constantly  sustained 
by  able  officers,  of  the  Field,  Staff,  and  Line ;  and  by  the  old 
members  of  the  City  Guard  who  continued  through  a  second 
term  of  enlistment,  the  reputation  and  efficiency  of  the  organ- 
ization continue  to  make  the  Scranton  City  Guard  the  pride  of 
the  city,  and  the  13th  Regiment  an  honor  to  the  National 
Guard.  It  has  had  the  honor  of  acting  as  an  escort  to  one 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  marching  in  the  grand 
procession  at  the  inauguration  of  two  others.  It  has  participated 
in  the  inauguration  of  two  Governors  of  the  State;  and  two  of 
its  Companies  have  been  specially  complimented,  by  another, 
as  having  given  the  most  perfect  exhibition  of  what  may  be 
done,  by  drill,  in  the  use  of  arms. 


314  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Folly  and  Philosophy  of  Strikes — Conclusions  and  the  Conclusion — Truths — Transi- 
tions— Benedictions. 

BUT  little  remains  to  be  recorded  in  order  to  complete  the 
task  which  the  author,  with  great  hesitancy,  undertook. 
A  History  of  the  "  Scranton  City  Guard  "  necessarily  carries 
with  it  an  interesting  and  important  chapter  in  the  history  of 
the  City  itself.  It  is  also  vitally  connected  with  a  striking 
epoch  in  the  history  of  Labor  and  Enterprise,  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  the 'suddenly  revealed,  and  imminent,  peril  to 
which  the  city  was  exposed  by  the  angry  Strike  of  all  the  work- 
ing people  of  the  Mining  District,  in  which  the  city  is  situated  ; 
which  called  the  Guard  into  existence.  And  it  has  been  the 
known  existence  of  the  forces  of  evil,  which  the  great  strike 
of  1877  revealed,  in  every  manufacturing  city  in  the  land, 
which  has  kept  it  on  its  steady  and  vigorous  march.  From  a 
condition  of  profound  peace,  and  active  industry;  in  which  all 
kinds  of  business  enterprises  were  struggling  to  rise  above  the 
limitations,  which  commercial  depression  had  placed  in  the 
way  of  trade;  the  whole  community  was  aroused  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  absolute,  and  immediate  peril.  In  three  days 
after  the  first  acts  of  the  rebellion  against  law  and  order,  which 
were  undertaken  by  the  Trainmen  of  the  great  railways,  the 
hideous  mob  spirit  was  manifested  in  all  the  prominent  cen- 
tres of  industry. 

Cities,  large  and  small,  all  over  the  land,  were  called  upon 
to  consider  and  provide  measures  of  safety  and  defense.  In- 
telligent society  was  startled  from  the  profoundest  sense  of 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  THE   CONCLUSION.  315 

peace  and  safety,  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  elements  of 
direst  evil  to  the  community  were  in  latent  existence,  wherever 
great  industries  gathered  large  bodies  of  workingmen  ;  and 
placed  them  under  the  pay  and  control  of  great  Corporations. 
At  Martinsburgh,  at  Parkersburgh  and  Wheeling,  in  West 
Virginia,  almost  simultaneously,  the  business  enterprises,  and 
the  homes  of  the  people,  were  placed  in  jeopardy  by  the  law- 
less spirit,  which  was  generated,  possibly  without  intention,  by 
the  organized  "  Strike  "  of  the  railway  operatives.  In  one  night, 
the  whole  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway,  with  its  centers  of 
business,  fell  into  the  possession  of  the  strikers.  In  one  day 
after  the  blockade  of  this  railway,  every  city,  and  centre  of  as- 
sociated industry,  in  the  country  had  felt  the  shock ;  and 
manifested  symptoms  of  the  dangerous  fever.  Restless  multi- 
tudes gathered  at  almost  every  Station,  of  importance,  on  the 
great  Railways ;  and  a  feeling  of  undefined  danger  smote  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  At  Baltimore ;  the  lawless  element 
appeared,  armed  as  a  mob,  to  meet  the  first  movement  of  the 
constituted  authorities  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  law.  In 
•Pittsburgh,  Altoona,  Harrisburg,  Philadelphia,  Reading  and 
Erie,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the  tempest  arose  almost 
simultaneously;  before  which  the  Public  Officials  stood  aghast ; 
and  Society  itself  swayed  and  staggered  as  one  half  awaked 
from  a  horrid  dream.  At  Columbus,  Cincinnati,  and  Cleve- 
land, in  Qhio ;  and  at  Buffalo,  Albany,  Hornellsville  and  Elmira, 
in  New  York  ;  the  peril,  to  all  that  the  peaceable  citizen  holds 
dear,  appeared  in  a  single  day.  The  offices  of  Governors,  and 
the  White  House  at  Washington,  were  disturbed  by  telegrams 
calling  for  troops,  to  prevent,  circumvent  and  destroy  rebellion; 
by  the  time  the  people  began  to  read  the  newspaper  reports  of 
the  Railway  Strike.  In  all  the  centres  of  industry  and  popu- 
lation, from  sea  to  sea,  there  was  a  movement  of  the  forces  of 
anarchy,  more  or  less  distinctly  defined.  Wherever  there  hap- 
pened to  be  a  trained  military  force,  and  executive  officials 


316  A   CITY'S   DANGER    AND   DEFENSE. 

who  were  qualified  for  their  positions  ;  as  in  the  States  of  New 
York  and  Massachusetts,  this  tempest  of  passion  passed  away 
quickly,  without  injury  ;  or  if  the  mob  gathered  it  was  dis- 
persed before  it  could  be  concentrated,  and  become  dangerous. 
But  wherever  the  people  stood  neutral,  or  waited  in  indiffer- 
ence to  see  how  the  issue  between  Corporations  and  Opera- 
tives might  terminate,  the  peril,  like  Jonah's  Gourd,  "  grew  in 
a  night,"  and  it  cast  a  wonderful  shadow. 

It  was  a  matter  of  universal  amazement  that  such  a  popula- 
tion existed  in  the  country,  as  at  once  blockaded  the  streets, 
and  gathered  in  council,  in  the  manufacturing  and  mining  dis- 
tricts in  the  wake  of  the  railway  strike.  The  intelligent  and 
virtuous  workmen,  who  had  yielded  to  passion,  in  their  efforts 
to  redress  their  own  grievances,  speedily  found  themselves  in 
the  hands  of  the  ignorant  and  the  vicious ;  and  thus  unwit- 
tingly' led  by  a  dangerous  philosophy,  they  found  themselves 
plunged  into  a  chaotic  force,  with  which  they  had  no  sym- 
pathy ;  and  from  which  they  could  only  be  delivered  by  the 
prompt,  and  complete,  defeat,  or  ignoble  failure,  of  the  lawless 
enterprise  they  had  undertaken. 

It  was  demonstrated  ;  particularly  throughout  the  great 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  that  the  City's  peril  is  to  be 
discovered  in  the  lawless  spirit,  which  may  at  any  time  be 
aroused  ;  and  that  its  only  safe  defense  is  to  be  found  in  the 
strong  arm  of  legal  force,  immediately  and  remorselessly 
applied.  If  "  history  is  philosophy  teaching  by  example," 
then  the  history  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard  is  something 
more  than  the  mere  record  of  the  military  enthusiasm  of  a 
battalion  of  intelligent  and  virtuous  young  men — a  city's  pride 
and  plaything.  This  Guard  has  from  the  beginning  been  an 
organization  of  real  force,  under  the  aegis  of  law  ;  which  has 
demonstrated  itself  to  be  that  "ounce  of  prevention,"  which  is 
"worth  more  than  a  pound  of  cure."  By  its  march,  and  its 
manliness,  it  has  redeemed  the  fair  young  city  from  the  un- 


CONCLUSIONS  AND   THE   CONCLUSION.  317 

worthy  reputation,  with  which  its  promiscuous  population,  and 
its  supposed  lawless  spirit,  had  burdened  its  character,  and 
hindered  its  growth,  through  a  series  of  years. 

For  a  whole  decade,  the  vacillation  of  labor  interests,  and 
the  restlessness  of  the  laborers  had  been  manifest  throughout 
the  Wyoming  and  the  Lackawanna  Valleys.  All  enterprises 
of  important  business  had  been  conducted  with  difficulty,  with 
more  or  less  fluctuation,  and  apprehension.  A  feverish  unrest 
seemed  to  manifest  itself,  in  a  multitude  of  places,  about  the 
coal  breakers,  and  machine-shops  of  every  character.  This 
was  doubtless  induced  by  a  variety  of  causes,  which  are  easily 
traceable  to  both  the  Corporations  and  the  workmen  which 
were  employed  by  them.  The  inexperience  of  "the  Compa- 
nies;" the  great  variety  of  enterprises  undertaken,  with  their 
various  branches  of  necessary  work,  which  their  successful 
prosecution  involved  ;  and  the  immense  difficulties  which  had 
to  be  overcome  in  the  developments  of  the  "Anthracite  Coal 
Field  ;  "  would  account  for  a  vast  deal  of  the  uncertainty  of 
movement,  and  the  instability  in  the  standard  of  wages  which 
were  paid  to  the  men.  The  very  large  outlay  of  capital, 
which  was  necessary,  before  any  return  could  be  expected ; 
with  the  amount  of  fruitless  experiment,  involved,  in  the  un- 
derground search  for  paying  minerals  ;  and  the  fluctuations  of 
an  uncertain  market,  made  the  burdens  of  the  Coal  Operators 
a  thousand  fold  heavier  than  those  of  the  honest  and  indus- 
trious workmen  employed  ;  either  in  the  Mines,  in  the  Mills,  or 
upon  the  Railways.  Steady  work  at  invariable  prices  was  sim- 
ply impossible,  in  schemes  of  industry  which  were  so  vast,  and 
whose  returns  were  subject  to  such  incalculable  contingencies. 
No  Board,  or  Company,  could  fix  a  satisfactory  standard  of 
wages  that  would  be  safe,  except  from  month  to  month. 
The  suspension  of  work,  the  limitation  of  time,  at  different 
breakers,  and  the  cutting  down  of  wages  in  the  whole  field 
upon  short  notice,  were  necessities ;  as  fully  beyond  the  con- 


318  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

trol,  or  certain  knowledge  of  the  Operators  and  Superintend- 
ents, as  was  that  of  the,  Workmen  who  were  the  special  suf- 
ferers by  it.  Confidence  between  all  parties,  with  the  comity 
of  kind  and  honest  dealing,  was  the  only  mitigation  ;  and  time 
the  only  cure  for  this  condition  of  things  in  this  vast  field  of 
industry. 

But  there  were  causes  for  the  restlessness  of  Labor ;  and  for 
the  gravest  complaints  of  the  laborers  which  were  as  clearly 
traceable  to  themselves.  There  was  a  constant  change  of  a 
large  body  of  these  workingmen  in  the  coal  fields.  There  was 
a  multitude  of  those  "  rolling  stones  which  gather  no  moss," 
in  these  valleys,  and  on  these  mountain  sides.  There  were 
also  many  enterprising  men  whose  ambitions  led  them  in 
search  of  new  fields  wherever  better  prospects  invited ;  and 
there  were  just  as  many  shiftless  creatures,  whose  want  of 
economy  and  prudence,  or  possibly  misfortunes,  kept  them  in 
the  market-place  waiting  for  some  one  to  hire  them.  All  these 
constituted  conjointly  a  force  which  militated  against  such  a 
settlement,  and  home  interest  in  the  great  field,  as  would 
naturally  tend  to  identify  the  workmen  with  their  employers 
in  these  vast  enterprises,  which  involved  alike  the  interests  of 
capital  and  labor.  Then  the  immense  immigration,  invited  by 
spurts  of  success,  for  years,  flooded  the  market  with  labor. 
The  great  mass  of  this  immigration  was  often  made  up  of  peo- 
ple of  all  races  who  came  entirely  ignorant  of  the  spirit  and 
genius  of  the  country.  They  had  been  trained  under  a  sys- 
tem of  limitations,  if  not  oppressions  of  the  workmen ;  and  they 
came  to  the  country  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that  the 
normal  relation  of  capital  and  labor  is  that  of  opposition  and 
war.  To  all  these,  Freedom  and  Citizenship,  meant  opposition 
to  Corporations  ;  or  equal  profit  in  the  products  of  capital, 
skill  and  labor.  Workers,  whether  in  the  mines,  the  mills  or 
on  the  railways  ;  until  they  had  become  acquainted  with  the 
true  spirit  of  the  country,  or  until  they  possessed  homes  of 


TRUTHS   AND   TRANSITIONS.  319 

their  own,  and  had  become  thus  identified  with  the  interests  of 
the  "  Coal  Fields,"  were  necessarily  an  element  of  disturbance, 
of  more  or  less  force.  This  state  of  things  was  aggravated  and 
made  dangerous,  under  the  efforts  and  leadership  of  dema- 
gogues and  rascals,  who  called  themselves  workmen,  and  who 
assumed  to  have  a  special  charge  of  the  workingmen's  inter- 
ests. Under  the  efforts  and  tuition  of  these  parasites  of  socie- 
ty, schemes  of  combination  on  principles  of  selfishness,  in  op- 
position to  corporations,  and  associations  of  capital  became 
familiar.  "  The  labor  combination "  and  the  "workmen's  strike" 
came  to  be  both  marks  of  independent  manliness  in  the  free- 
men, and  the  efficient  remedy  for  low  wages  and  unsteady 
employment.  The  wrongs  of  individuals  ;  or  the  scaling  down 
of  the  wages  in  certain  departments,  were  considered  cause 
sufficient  for  an  interruption  of  work  in  every  department. 

The  consequence  of  all  these  causes  was  simply  an  aggrava- 
tion and  an  increase  of  burdens  upon  all  enterprise;  if  not  the 
limitation  and  failure  of  business,  in  which  the  workmen  were 
necessarily  the  first  and  the  greatest  sufferers.  Under  the 
manipulation  of  demagogues,  and  homeless  laborers,  who  had 
no  interest,  either  in  the  city  or  its  enterprises,  Strikes  became 
almost  chronic.  Again  and  again,  for  three  months,  and  then 
for  six  months,  and  even  for  a  whole  year,  the  machinery  of 
these  valleys  was  stopped  or  worked  only  in  sections  ;  and  that, 
too,  under  the  philosophy  cf  strikes;  while  idleness  bred  bru- 
tality and  intemperance  among  workmen,  under  which  a 
multitude  of  laborers  went  down. 

Under  such  a  state  of  society  and  enterprise  it  was  not 
strange  that  the  reputation  of  the  City  of  Scranton,  and  of  the 
great  body  of  its  working  people  in  the  whole  region  of  which 
it  was  the  centre  should  suffer.  The  impression  went  abroad 
throughout  the  country,  and  very  naturally,  that  these  mag- 
nificent valleys  afforded  no  security  to  capital,  and  a  very  un- 
certain protection  to  life.     The  strike  of  the  miners  afforded 


320  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

great  head-lines  for  the  newspapers,  and,  possibly,  danger  in 
many  directions  appeared  to  the  vision  of  peaceful  citizens  in 
other  places.  It  was  useless  to  publish  in  the  great  centres  of 
money  and  population  that  Scranton  was  a  city  of  law  and  or- 
der; that  its  citizens  were  a  law-abiding  people,  dwelling  in 
absolute  safety.  It  was  useless  to  assert  that  we  were  such  a 
stable  and  peaceful  city,  that  the  city  fathers  deemed  eleven 
policemen  an  ample  force  to  protect  the  homes  of  fifty  thou- 
sand people  ;  and  that  nobody  cared  whether  the  Mayor  were 
an  honest,  intelligent  citizen,  or  a  drunkard,  and  a  vender  of 
whisky.  It  was  useless  to  publish  that  our  jails  were  empty  ; 
and  that  fewer  arrests  were  made,  of  law-breakers,  within  the 
precincts  of  the  city  than  in  any  other  city  of  its  size  in  the 
State.  As  long  as  the  laborers'  Strike  was  the  recognized  in- 
stitution of  the  coal-fields,  whose  demands  and  results  must  be 
considered  by  all  capital-seeking  investments,  and  by  all  man- 
ufacturers seeking  a  field  for  their  enterprise  ;  both  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  city,  and  the  life  of  all  classes  of  its  citizens,  must 
actually  suffer. 

Every  invitation  to  capitalists  to  locate,  and  every  showing 
of  the  unlimited  possibilities  for  all  the  great  enterprises  of  our 
civilization,  which  were  here  being  wasted,  were  received  with 
smiles  of  incredulity  or  set  aside  with  the  wondering  inquiry 
how  any  man,  who  possessed  anything,  could  risk  his  life,  or 
attempt  to  sleep  in  peace,  in  a  community  where  ignorance 
ruled  by  force;  and  where  the  conduct  of  great  enterprises 
must  be  determined  by  Committees  and  mass  meetings  of 
miners,  or  workmen,  under  the  segis  of  labor  associations  and 
under  the  shadows  of  the  "strike." 

Every  enterprise  and  interest  of  the  city  had  been  handi- 
capped by  this  evil  reputation,  arising  from  the  chronic  at- 
tempt of  designing  men  and  selfish  demagogues  to  perpetuate 
an  opposition  between  labor  and  capital,  or  to  control  enter- 
prise by  the  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  the  working  people. 


TRUTHS   AND   TRANSITIONS.  321 

The  Strike  of  1877  was  but  the  last  of  a  series  of  these  dis- 
turbances of  evil  omen  and  influence.  It  was  vastly  the  more 
threatening  from  its  connection  with  the  spirit  of  anarchy; 
which  at  that  time  had  swept  so  suddenly  over  the  whole 
country.  It  was  not  the  local,  but  the  general  issue  of  an- 
archy or  law,  which  had  arisen  so  unexpectedly,  and  before 
which  the  whole  nation  seemed  to  tremble. 

To  rescue  the  city  from  this  imminent  peril,  and  to  perform 
the  manly  part  of  patriotic  citizens  of  a  great  country,  as  well 
as  to  preserve  all  that  was  held  dear,  this  city's  defenders  were 
called  forth.  It  was  in  faithfulness  to  the  great  American 
idea  of  law  and  order,  as  the  necessary  conservator  of  a  free 
Government,  that  the  arm  of  defense  was  raised  and  the  rescue 
of  the  city  accomplished.  The  march  of  the  young  men,  which 
has  been  deemed  worth  recording,  was  in  perfect  unison  with 
that  tread  of  freemen  that  echoes  all  along  the  lines  of  history, 
in  the  United  States ;  which  has  left  its  uniform  testimony, 
sealed  with  blood,  that  the  safety  of"  Free  Institutions,"  is  to 
be  found  in  the  virtuous  patriotism  of  the  people,  and  in  the 
supremacy  of  law. 

When  the  rescue  of  the  city  was  accomplished,  the  reasons 
for  the  existence  of  the  military  organization  became  only  the 
more  explicit  and  weighty.  It  was  deemed  both  foolish  and 
wrong  to  cast  away  the  lessons  which  the  revelations  of  the 
strike  and  its  mobs  had  clearly  taught  the  city.  The  dangers 
revealed  were  none  the  less  certain,  from  their  being  overcome 
at  present ;  or  from  the  fact  of  their  lying  latent  so  long. 
To  redeem  the  City  and  its  surrounding  interests  from  the  in- 
cubus of  this  evil  reputation  and  character,  which  had  been  so 
long  endured,  became  the  conscious  duty  of  all  classes  of 
its  citizens.  Workmen,  Superintendents  and  Capitalists  alike 
felt  the  demand,  and  they  wisely  united  in  a  determination  to 
gather  about  this  noble  band  of  young  men ;  who  had  taken 
the  oath  of  the  law,  under  all  circumstances  to  maintain  the 
21 


322  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

law.  They  determined  to  make  the  City  Guard  a  leader  in 
securing  that  order  of  things,  under  which  stability,  prosperity 
and  peace,  should  return,  and  the  wealth  and  comfort  of  a  great 
city  be  developed.  That  longed-for  peace  did  return  with  all 
its  riches  of  blessing. 

Wise  men  may  indeed  differ  as  to  what  measure  of  this  re- 
storation of  prosperity,  and  confidence,  is  due  to  the  march  of 
the  Guard.  They  may  differ  as  to  how  far  the  redemption  of 
the  fair  name  of  the  city,  already  accomplished,  is,  in  any  sense, 
traceable  to  one  cause  or  to  another ;  but  no  business  man  who 
has  lived  through  the  experiences  of  the  last  fifteen  years  in 
this  valley  will  fail  to  discern  a  close,  if  not  a  causal  connec- 
tion, between  the  knowledge  that  there  was  in  the  city  of  Scran- 
ton  a  band  of  men  who  ever  stood  ready  to  use  guns,  under 
orders,  against  all  lawless  endeavor,  and  the  blessed  peace 
which  has  since  reigned  in  all  parts  of  the  valley.  The  effects 
of  the  sunlight  will  be  manifested  in  a  thousand  places  ;  in  glens 
and  deep  gorges,  where  his  descending  rays  are  ever  invisible. 
So  the  influence  and  power  of  a  clearly-defined  idea  sweep 
around  in  lines  we  cannot  trace,  and  reach  out,  in  invisible 
forces,  in  the  places  in  which  there  is  no  visible  manifestation. 
The  effect  of  the  maintenance  and  training  of  such  an  organiza- 
tion, for  the  defense  of  the  city,  upon  the  citizens  themselves,  of 
all  classes,  can  only  be  discerned  through  a  course  of  years. 
But  the  contrast  between  these  great  interests  of  industry  as 
they  are  conducted  to-day,  and  have  been  for  a  decade,  with 
what  they  were  throughout  the  preceding  ten  years,  gives  us 
assurance  that  there  has  been  somehow  and  somewhere  a 
mighty  power  of  order  at  work. 

The  last  ten  years — the  ten  years  of  the  march  of  the  City 
Guard — have  been  marked  by  rapid  and  radical  changes  in  the 
city  of  Scranton,  and  in  the  valley  of  great  industries  of  which 
it  is  the  centre.  The  population  has  more  than  doubled  in 
that  period;  and  the  industries,  especially  in  the  way  of  manu- 


TRUTHS   AND   TRANSITIONS.  323 

factures,  have  increased  more  than  fourfold.  The  improve- 
ment, in  all  matters  which  determine  the  public  character  of  a 
community,  has  generally  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the 
business  and  population.  Notwithstanding  the  rapidity  of  the 
increase  of  population,  and  the  tentative  character  of  many  of 
the  business  enterprises,  the  Christian,  the  moral,  and  educa- 
tional institutions  of  a  great  city  have  been  liberally  provided 
for.  The  public  works  undertaken  have  generally  been  sub- 
stantial, rather  than  elegant.  Honest  enterprise  has  given 
character  to  the  City,  and  made  it  the  beautiful  home  for  a 
multitude  of  honest  and  worthy  people.  The  evil  reputation 
has  been  swept  away,  and  the  true  character  of  the  city  and  of 
its  possibilities  have  only  been  known  since  the  great  upheaval; 
and  since  the  City  Guard  appeared  as  its  protest  against  all 
disorderly  movements.  The  development  of  these  possibilities 
in  these  ten  years  has  been,  indeed,  marvellous. 

It  is  a  fact  which  ought  now  to  be  known  in  all  places  of  the 
land,  that  there  is  no  community  or  city  of  organized  enter- 
prise and  great  manufactures,  in  whose  history  less,  just, 
reason  can  be  found,  for  the  existence  of  a  war  between  Capital 
and  Labor  than  in  this  young  city  among  the  mountains. 
While  labor  disturbances  have  been  chronic,  in  its  history; 
there  has  been  as  little  of  just  and  reasonable  cause  for  them 
as  can  be  found  in  any  community  in  the  country.  The  foun- 
dations of  this  youngest  of  the  cities  of  the  Commonwealth 
were  laid  by  Christian  men,  of  the  largest  views,  and  of  dis- 
tinctly honest  purposes.  Every  provision,  that  could  be  made 
by  workingmen  for  the  comfort  and  improvement  of  working- 
men,  was  made  without  stint  or  grudging.  It  is,  and  always 
has  been,  conspicuously  a  city  of  working  people.  Its  citizens 
have  generally  shown  themselves  to  be  patriotic  and  law-abid- 
ing; its  property  owners  and  the  managers  of  its  great  busi- 
ness schemes  have,  from  the  beginning,  encouraged  and  helped 
the  industrious  laborers  to  secure  homes  for  themselves.  They 


324  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

have  kept  open  the  highway  of  promotion,  from  the  bottom  to 
the  top,  along  the  lines  of  industry,  virtue  and  skill,  through 
all  the  years  ;  and  along  this  highway  miners  and  mule-drivers, 
puddlers  and  stokers,  have  passed,  unhindered,  save  by  their 
own  weakness  or  vices,  to  the  positions  of  honest  respectabili- 
ty, wealth  and  power. 

The  City,  so  far  in  its  history,  has  never  yet  had  what  is  gen- 
erally known  as  a   retired  business  man.     Its  men  of  fortune 
have  ever  been  its  active  workers  ;  its  builders  of  public  enter- 
prise have  always  been  its  industrious  and  hard-working  men 
who  have  carried  forward  their  own  work  with  both  brain  and 
muscle.     There  are  few  cities  in  the  world  to-day  where  there 
has  been  less  cause  for  those  divisions  and  jealousies  among 
the  population,  which  are  generated  and  fostered  by  the  vague 
issues  of  what  are  called  "labor  questions."     Any  division 
among  the  citizens  involving  issues  between  capital  and  labor, 
here,  could  only  be  divisions  of  workingmen.    The  attempt  to 
array  laborers  against  capitalists  is  simply  an  effort,  in  this  val- 
ley, to  arraign  workmen  against  workmen  and  always  has  been. 
The  specific  capital   in  the  whole  valley,  has,  for  many  years, 
been  recognized  as  the  magnificent  fields  of  the  Anthracite  Coal. 
In  order  to  make  this  capital  of  any  practical  use,  there  is  a 
necessary  outlay,  which  is  impossible  to  mere  individual  enter- 
prise or  sacrifice.     Association  of  capital  is  indeed  an  abso- 
lute necessity  in  this  region.     The  demands  of  the  case  have 
given  birth  to   Corporations ;  and  success  has  enlarged  these 
corporations,    until  they  are  great  and  powerful ;    but  there 
has  always  been  an  open  field,  full  room  for  enterprise,  and 
fair  reward  for  honest   industry ;  free  to  all   the   world.     If 
these  corporations,  at  any  time,  have  been  unjust  or  oppressive 
to  their  laborers,  it  has  been  no  fault  of  the  industrious  and 
honest  citizens  of  this  City  of  honest  and  generous  people. 

The  policy  of  Strikes  is  a  policy  of  unwisdom  and  injustice, 
of  the  most  inexcusable  type.     This  is  manifested  in  the  fact 


TRUTHS   AND   TRANSITIONS.  325 

that  it  is  an  attempt  to  make  the  guiltless  suffer  with,  if  not 
for,  the  guilty.  It  is  a  selfish,  remorseless  assertion  of  rights 
and  wrongs,  which,  if  persevered  in,  is  sure  to  make  a  busi- 
ness wreck  in  the  business  community  itself.  And  all  this 
upon  the  plea  of  wrongs  done,  or  said  to  have  been  done,  by 
a  Corporation,  which  exists  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  either 
the  strikers  or  their  real  victims.  It  is  really  an  attack  upon 
fellow-workers,  in  the  great  shop  of  industries,  under  pretense 
of  striking  men,  who,  by  their  successful  industry,  have  grad- 
uated from  this  same  shop ;  and  simply  claim  the  right  to  use 
their  capital,  which  was  the  fruit  of  their  own  labor,  under  their 
own  control. 

The  enlightened  public  conscience,  has  no  justification,  or 
apology,  for  that  conduct,  or  administration  of  business,  which 
uses  capital  for  the  oppression  of"  the  hireling  in  his  wages  ;" 
or  for  any  attempt  to  reduce  the  laboring  man  to  a  condition 
of  bondage  by  the  bands  of  his  own  necessities.  "  The  golden 
rule"  is  the  true  Christian  law  of  business.  "  Do  unto 
others  as  you  would  have  others  do  unto  you,"  contains  in  it 
treasures  of  the  highest  practical  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  divine  law  of  charity.  It  will  be  found  to 
be  the  only  cure,  at  last,  for  all  the  ills  under  which  the  work- 
ingmen  suffer,  and  society  frets  throughout  this  world,  and 
day  of  work.  It  will  ever  be  found  to  be  one  of  the  most 
blessed  functions  of  enlightened  free  government  to  perfect  its 
laws  ;  so  that  the  weak  shall  be  delivered  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  strong.  So  that  the  worker  shall  be  protected  against  the 
rapacity  and  power  of  capital  in  the  hands  of  associated  men, 
who  may  be  tempted  to  use  their  less  fortunate  fellows,  as 
if  they  were  mere  machines  ;  or  who  by  the  rapacity  enkind- 
led by  success  itself  may  be  tempted,  as  the  wicked  Jews  of 
old,  to  "  sell  the  poor  for  a  pair  of  shoes/'  It  will  also  be 
recognized  as  the  work  of  highest  wisdom  in  the  State,  and  of 
real  blessing,  both  to  rich  and  poor,  to  remove  all  reasonable 


326  A  CITY'S   DANGER   AND   DEFENSE. 

cause  of  complaint,  all  visible  source  of  oppression,  whose 
tendency  is  always  to  bring  about  a  collision  between  the 
workman  and  his  employer.  But  justice  must  as  certainly 
be  violated  by  an  attempt,  under  law,  to  oppress  the  rich,  as 
to  allow  the  rich  to  become  the  master  of  the  poor. 

The  right  of  any  man  to  cease  working,  or  to  determine  for 
whom,  and  for  what  wages,  he  shall  work,  no  man  of  intelli- 
gence ever  questioned.  The  right  of  any  number  of  men  to 
associate  and  fix  a  value  upon  their  labor,  and  to  refuse  to 
work  until  they  can  secure  the  price  which  is  established  is 
equally  unquestioned.  But  the  right  of  one  man,  or  of  any 
number  of  men,  to  attempt  to  prevent  from  working  those  who 
set  a  lower  price  upon  their  services  ;  or  skill,  or  whose  con- 
dition demands  that  they  shall  work  even  for  inadequate 
wages,  is  a  direct  infringement  of  the  first  principles  of  per- 
sonal liberty.  This  is  a  plan  of  Co-operation  and  labor  Asso- 
ciation which  enlightened  law  defines  as  a  wicked  "  conspir- 
acy," which  true  manhood  must  forever  resist.  It  is  an 
oppression  which  is  blind  and  destructive  of  all  the  rights  of 
the  individual  man — a  mere  monarchy  of  the  mob. 

The  whole  matter  of  "  Combination,"  for  the  purpose  of 
limiting  business,  and  of  controlling  industry,  to  the  end  of 
aggrandizing  particular  parties,  is  essentially,  at  war  with  the 
best  interests  of  mankind ;  whether  it  be  undertaken  in  the 
interest  of  Capital  or  of  Labor.  It  can  only  end  in  injustice,  op- 
pression and  abuse.  The  vital  idea  upon  which  the  progress 
of  commerce  and  true  civilization  must  ever  depend  is  that 
of  just  and  healthy  competition.  Every  man,  waiting  for 
work,  must  expect  to  be  hired  at  his  own  true  value  ;  and  not 
at  the  valuation  of  a  class  or  an  Association  w'lth  which  he  may 
be  connected.  Unless  he  shall  first  sell  himself  to  his  Asso- 
tion,  this  is  impossible.  Every  corporation  and  association, 
for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing,  or  for  the  conducting  of 
trade,  or  for  the  prosecution  of  any  industry,  must  expect  only 


TRUTHS  AND   TRANSITIONS.  327 

the  rewards  of  the  true  values,  which  they  may  be  able  to 
present  in  the  open  markets  of  the  world.  "  Co-operation,"  for 
the  control  of  values  upon  the  mere  selfish  basis,  is  a  legal 
iniquity.  It  is  an  attempted  obstruction  of  the  march  of  that 
civilization  whose  life,  power  and  blessing,  to  the  world,  are  to 
be  found  only  in  the  true  appreciation  of  the  individual  man. 
Business  is  never  to  be  conceived  of  as  a  scheme  of  benevo- 
lence, or  a  direct  system  of  philanthropy.  Fair  competition 
and  an  open  market  are  the  demands  of  a  free  humanity;  and 
every  scheme  of  co-operation  or  association  which  brings  the 
workingman  to  the  doors  of  the  shop,  seeking  for  a  place,  upon 
any  other  ground  than,  that  of  his  own  personal  worth  to  his 
employer,  must  be  false  in  principle,  and  therefore  degrading 
to  manhood.     Competition,  and  not  selfish  combination,  is 

THE  ESSENTIAL  FOUNDATION  UPON  WHICH  THE  WHOLE  STRUC- 
TURE OF  INDUSTRIAL  SOCIETY  MUST  STAND,  IN  A  FREE  COUNTRY, 
AND  UNDER  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  CIVILIZATION. 

The  demand  that  men  should  be  employed  because  they 
are  members  of  a  league  or  association;  or  that  they  shall 
work,  or  cease  working  at  the  order  of  such  an  association  ;  is 
simply  an  attempt  to  place  free  men,  and  free  labor,  under 
a  bondage,  degrading  and  unendurable  to  true  manhood.  It 
is  the  inauguration  of  a  system  which  will  necessarily  belittle 
humanity  itself,  and  place  barriers  to  the  advancement  and 
elevation  of  society.  It  is  a  scheme  which  is  contrary  to  the 
whole  spirit  of  our  modern  institutions.  Its  essential  princi- 
ple is,  that  communism  which  leads  to  anarchy,  under  which 
society  or  associated  industiy  are  alike  impossible.  In  oppo- 
sition to  this  whole  scheme  of  evil,  whether  undertaken  by  a 
league  of  capitalists,  and  business  companies  in  order  to  con- 
trol production,  and  restrict  the  supply  and  demand  of  the 
market;  or  by  the  workmen,  to  their  own  aggrandizement,  to 
secure  that  which  they  have  not  honestly  earned,  every 
virtuous,  patriotic  and  worthy  citizen  should  give  his  protest. 


328  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

For  upon  its  timely  failure  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
community  must  depend.  The  imminent  danger  of  the  city, 
in  this  land  of  free  labor,  on  the  basis  of  a  just  competition,  is 
to  be  discerned  in  the  legitimate  issues  of  this  combination  of 
forces,  which  swamp  individual  manhood  in  the  chaos  of  the 
crowd ;  and  which  eliminate  conscience  from  the  corporations 
and  associations  of  capital.  The  substitution  of  unlawful 
force  for  reason ;  the  triumph  of  might  over  right,  is  death  to 
society  itself;  and  everything  which  tends  to  this,  carries  its 
warning  to  the  intelligent  citizen  upon  its  very  face.  Without 
the  dignity  and  force  of  just  law,  no  city,  or  community,  can 
prosper  or  men  hope  to  dwell  together  in  peace. 

It  was  upon  the  solid  basis  of  these  eternal  principles  of  right 
that  the  city's  defenders  sprung,  moved  by  the  instincts  of  a  free 
manhood  and  intelligent  patriotism,  on  the  day  when  the 
tempest  of  blind  passion  swept  into  its  streets.  It  has  been 
upon  this  broad  and  solid  highway  of  free,  personal,  man- 
hood ;  laid  down  by  the  fathers  of  the  great  Republic,  and 
cemented  by  their  blood,  for  the  security  of  a  mighty  nation  ; 
and  for  the  blessing  of  all  coming  races,  and  ages,  that  these 
Defenders  of  the  City  have  ever  marched.  Not  mere  soldiers, 
these  ;  marching  and  counter-marching  for  a  day,  to  afford  a 
respectable  back-ground  for  the  display  of  "the  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance of  war;  "  but  men,  clothed  with  the  uniform  of  a 
true  manhood,  and  charged  with  a  mission  with  whose  eternal 
issues,  war  is  only  a  contingency ;  and  individual  life,  itself,  a 
mere  circumstance. 

The  work  of  maintaining  the  Guard  with  the  high  character 
and  reputation  which  it  had  attained,  in  the  first  five  years  ot 
its  service  was  both  laborious  and  constant.  Both  officers 
and  leading  men  in  the  ranks  felt  this  burden,  but  they  took 
it  up  intelligently  and  carried  it  with  commendable  persever- 
ance. To  be  able  to  fully  appreciate  this  work  it  must  be 
remembered  that  every  officer  in  command,  and  every  private 


TRUTHS  AND   TRANSITIONS.  329 

in  the  ranks,  had  his  own  enterprise,  his  business,  or  his 
personal  trust  in  active  life,  depending  directly  upon  his 
industry  and  fidelity.  It  must  be  remembered  that  every 
man's  duty  as  a  Guardsman  was  taken  simply  as  an  addi- 
tional burden  in  the  plans  of  life  ;  and  that  he  not  only 
served  without  recompense,  but  generally  at  the  expense  of 
his  own  resources.  Remembering  these  facts  it  will  not 
seem  strange  that  many  should  grow  weary  of  the  service 
and  find  it  the  perplexity  of  their  life. 

The  high  impulse  with  which  the  organization  was  effected 
was  necessarily  short-lived.  The  substratum  of  genuine  pa- 
triotic principle  and  of  intelligent  conviction  were  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  alive  the  military  enthusiasm  necessary  to 
success.  The  visible  danger  of  the  city  ;  which  was  generated 
in  the  manifest  disposition  of  a  certain  class  of  people  to  resist 
the  law,  and  attempt  to  control  the  business  interests  of  the 
valley  by  terrorizing  workmen,  passed  away  as  soon  as  the 
City  Guard  revealed  its  power  and  readiness  to  resist  all  law- 
lessness with  deadly  force.  It  was,  then,  but  natural  that,  as 
soon  as  the  imminent  danger  had  passed  from  sight,  and  the 
workmen  had  returned  in  a  body  to  their  work,  many  excel- 
lent men  who  had  promptly  taken  up  arms,  yet  were  entirely 
destitute  of  military  taste,  should  be  disposed  to  lay  them 
down  just  as  promptly.  Especially  was  this  to  be  expected  of 
those  who  were  burdened  with  the  early  struggles  of  business, 
or  of  professional  life. 

But  the  first  symptoms  of  flagging  interest  were  met  and 
overcome  by  the  manly  struggles  which  necessarily  followed 
from  the  burdens  assumed,  by  the  whole  battalion,  in  the  work 
of  building  the  armory,  and  in  the  effort  to  place  the  Guard 
upon  a  permanent  footing.  The  energetic  young  men,  how- 
ever oppressed  or  puzzled  with  their  own  burdens,  could  not 
find  it  in  their  hearts  to  forsake  their  companions  while  the 
honor  of  the  Guard  was  pledged  for  the  accomplishment  of 
these  high  purposes. 


330  A  CITY'S   DANGER   AND   DEFENSE. 

Then  followed  the  impulse  and  grand  reinforcement  which 
military  taste  and  military  success  always  bring  to  the  help 
of  such  an  enterprise.  It  is  a  wonderful  help  to  the  young 
man,  "  rejoicing  in  his  strength,"  to  know  that  there  are  admir- 
ing eyes  fixed  upon  him;  that  there  are  loving  hearts  swelling 
with  the  deep  appreciation  which  is  created  by  the  skill  and 
manliness  with  which  he  performs  a  duty,  which  would  other- 
wise be  irksome,  if  not  intolerable.  The  glow  of  enthusi- 
asm is  enkindled  and  intensified  by  the  uniform,  by  the  cadence 
of  the  step,  by  the  touch  of  the  elbow,  and  by  the  music  of 
patriotic  ardor !  There  is  a  wonderful  fascination  and  increase 
of  strength  and  of  manly  endurance  created  by  the  "pomp 
and  circumstance  of  war,"  especially  when  it  is  only  the  pre- 
paration for  war,  as  its  best  preventive.  The  sincere  and 
universal  appreciation  of  the  City  Guard  as  the  city's  Defense; 
on  the  part  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  valley,  helped  to  main- 
tain the  Guard  more  than  can  readily  be  measured.  The  best 
young  men  held  fast  to  the  work  with  worthy  self-denial  and 
perseverance.  In  many  cases,  doubtless,  this  was  done  from 
the  conviction  of  their  own  loneliness  in  society,  if  they  should 
drop  out  in  the  march. 

These  things,  taken  with  the  wise  energy  of  the  Colonel  in 
varying  the  exercises  and  drills,  in  introducing  and  keeping 
up  the  contests  on  the  rifle  range,  and  affording  the  greatest 
possible  break  in  the  flow  of  daily  duty, — especially  in  the  an- 
nual Encampments, — made  the  service  popular ;  and  so  kept 
in  the  Guard  all  good  and  true  men,  who  could  possibly  endure 
the  sacrifice,  throughout  the  full  term  of  their  enlistment. 
When  Colonel  Boies  closed  his  term  of  service  it  was  dis- 
cerned by  all  that  the  march  of  the  battalion  had  been  upward 
from  the  beginning.  There  had  been  no  backward  step.  The 
Thirteenth  Regiment  had  made  a  reputation  which  it  would 
require  constant  diligence  to  maintain  ;  nor  had  the  City  Guard 
existed  long  enough  to  maintain  itself  by  the  force  of  its  own 
history.  „ 


TRUTHS  AND   TRANSITIONS.  331 

Many  changes  necessarily  occurred  in  the  personnel  of  the 
Regiment,  and  more  especially  in  that  of  the  City  Guard,  upon 
the  retirement  of  Colonel  Boies.  The  military  family,  which, 
for  five  years  had  lived,  and  marched,  and  struggled  together 
was  broken  up.  And  it  would  hardly  be  possible  to  form 
another  military  family  with  the  same  elements  in  general, 
which  should  leave  no  regrets  and  no  scars  from  the  heal- 
ing of  the  wounds  made  by  the  departure  of  those,  who, 
for  so  many  years,  had  worked,  and  bunked,  and  laughed 
together. 

But  the  crisis  was  not  necessarily  made  by  the  departure  of 
the  Colonel  and  his  staff  alone  ;  nor  indeed  chiefly.  The  full 
term  of  enlistment  of  a  large  number  of  the  members  of  the 
four  companies  expired  at  the  same  time,  and  on  the  same  day. 
The  young  men  who  had  marched  together  for  five  years,  the 
great  mass  of  whom  were  as  capable  of  fulfilling  the  duties  o' 
command  as  their  officers,  had  served  out  their  time  in  the 
ranks  ;  many  of  them  persistently  refusing  promotion.  And 
they  were  all  ready  to  step  out  of  the  ranks  satisfied  with  the 
honors  of  a  faithful  service.  Their  going  out,  too,  would  take 
with  them  the  great  personal  interest  of  a.multitude  of  the  best 
citizens  of  the  city  in  the  personnel  of the  Guard. 

Great  anxiety  was  manifested  by  all  who  had  the  interest  of 
the  service  at  heart,  lest  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  should  be 
suffered  to  flag  and  fall ;  both  among  the  members  of  the  City 
Guard  and  among  the  mass  of  citizens  who  had  so  nobly  sus- 
tained and  cherished  the  organization.  To  forestall  and  pre- 
vent such  a  disaster,  which  all  saw  might  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected, and  to  tide  over  the  dangers  which  the  depression  con- 
sequent upon  the  retirement  of  so  many  excellent  officers  and 
men  had  caused,  an  appeal  was  made  to  these  veterans  to  re- 
enlist  under  conditions  which  were  tacitly  agreed  upon.  These 
terms  in  general  were  that  they  should  be  honorably  discharged 
when,  in  the  judgment  of  their  officer,  the  service  could  permit 


332  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

it,  without  detriment,  or  their  necessities  should  require  it, 
upon  their  own  application. 

By  this  measure,  so  generously  accepted  by  the  veterans,  all 
perceptible  shock  was  avoided.  The  changes  of  command, 
both  in  the  Companies  and  in  the  Regiment,  caused  no  fall  in 
the  high  purpose  of  the  organization.  Thus  were  relieved 
the  reasonable  fears  that  the  retirement  of  so  many  of  the  best 
drilled  and  influential  young  men,  along  with  that  of  the  Colo- 
nel ;  who  had  so  ably  commanded,  and  generously  treated,  his 
associates  in  civil  life  ;  would  result  in  the  visible  weakening  of 
the  City  Guard,  and  leave  that  organization  to  drop  out  of  that 
public  interest,  which  was  absolutely  necessary  to  its  contin- 
ued efficiency. 

The  social  and  business  standing  of  Col.  Boies  gave  him  ad- 
vantages for  his  Command,  which  enabled  him  to  do  a  work 
for  the  whole  Regiment,  which  few  men,  who  were  willing  to 
take  his  place,  could  do.  With  the  co-operation  of  his  estima- 
ble wife,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  an  annual  "  Military 
Dinner"  to  the  officers, commissioned  and  non-commissioned, 
of  the  Field  and  Staff,  in  the  City  Guard.  By  this  generous 
hospitality  he  attempted  so  to  bring  them  into  social  contact  as 
to  cultivate  and  develop  the  gentlemanly  instincts,  necessary 
to  efficient  and  pleasant  co-operation  in  such  an  associated  duty. 

These  unselfish  favors  were  highly  appreciated  by  the  offi- 
cers, and  added  greatly  to  their  cheerfulness  and  manly  devo- 
tion in  the  service.  By  this  social  feast  the  strongest  bands 
were  woven  for  the  Colonel's  military  family  ;  and  the  higher 
motives  of  patriotic  devotion  were  cherished.  During  the  term 
of  his  services  he  was  also  able,  by  his  business  relations,  to 
secure  favors  from  the  public  for  the  Regiment  which  greatly 
relieved  the  burdens  of  the  Guard,  and  enabled  it  to  hold  its 
position  in  the  public  esteem  ;  while  his  aggressive  and  out- 
spoken policy,  and  his  care  of  the  best  interests  of  the  men  in 
the  ranks  endeared  him  to  the  whole  command.     He  retired, 


TRUTHS   AND  TRANSITIONS.  333 

bearing  with  him  the  deepest  regrets,  as  well  as  the  best  wishes, 
of  his  associates.  It  was  fully  understood  by  all,  both  officers 
and  men,  that  no  man  could  be  found  in  the  city  who  might 
be  able,  exactly,  to  fill  the  niche  which  he  left  vacant. 

But  from  the  beginning,  the  Guard  had  marched  with  Col. 
Hitchcock,  and  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  both  his  mili- 
tary and  personal  worth.  Both  officers  and  men  believed  in 
him;  and  all  fell  into  line  under  the  new  order,  with  undimin- 
ished confidence.  Without  question,  the  real  and  permanent 
excellence  of  the  Regiment  has  suffered  no  real  diminution 
under  his  command.  It  may  have  lost  something  of  its  high 
position  in  the  interest  and  affections  of  the  people  of  the  city. 
But  the  population  of  the  city  has  as  greatly  changed  as  has 
the  membership  of  the  Guard ;  and  certainly  the  reputation  of 
the  Regiment  in  the  National  Guard,  and  among  all  military 
men  of  the  State,  has  steadily  advanced,  under  his  efficient 
command. 

The  Roster  of  the  Regiment,  under  the  new  administration, 
was  as  follows  : 

F.  L.  Hitchcock,  Col.;  E.  H.  Ripple,  Lieutenant  Col. ;  Henry  A.  Cour- 
sen,  Major ;  Lieutenant  Charles  C.  Mattes,  Adjutant,  who,  after  four 
years'  service,  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  Edward  J.  Dimmick,  and 
he  by  Everett  Warren.  S.  C.  Logan,  D.D.  Chaplain  ;  Lieutenant  John 
P.  Albro,  Quartermaster;  Major  H.  V.  Logan,  M.D.,  Surgeon;  First 
Lieutenant  A.  James  Connell,  M.D.,  Assistant  Surgeon;  First  Lieuten- 
ant Clement  L.  Frey,  M.D.,  Assistant  Surgeon  ;  Lieutenant  Wm.  B. 
Henwood,  Inspector  of  Rifle  Practice;  he  was  succeeded  in  May,  1887, 
by  Lieut.  Herman  Osthaus. 

Non- Commissioned  Staff—  Everett  Warren,  Sergeant  Major;  Andrew 
P.  Bedford,  Quartermaster-Sergeant ;  William  J.  Morton,  Commissary 
Sergeant ;  Edward  Evans,  Hospital  Steward. 

The  Adjutancy  of  the  Regiment  has  been  held  successively, 
and  ably  filled,  first  by  Robert  Macmillan,  who  resigned  to  re- 
turn to  the  ranks  of  Company  A,  and  who  through  all  the  years 
has  held  a  high  position  on  the  "  regimental  rifle  team.'      He 


334  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

was  succeeded  by  Ed.  F.  Chamberlin,  who,  after  two  years'  ser- 
vice, resigned  because  of  the  burden  of  business,  and  completed 
his  service  in  Company  A,  as  a  private.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Frank  H.  Clemons,  of  Company  C,  who  held  the  position 
about  a  year,  and  resigned  on  account  of  the  demands  of 
business.  He  was  succeeded  by  Charles  C.  Mattes,  of  Com- 
pany C,  who  filled  the  position  with  great  efficiency  and  ac- 
ceptance for  four  years,  when  he  retired  to  the  position  of  First 
Lieutenant  of  Company  A.  Mr.  Mattes  gave  place  to  Edward 
J.  Dimmick,  who  had  served  as  second  lieutenant  of  Company 
C.  Lieutenant  Dimmick  served  two  years  with  efficiency  as 
Adjutant,  and  also  resigned  because  of  the  pressure  of  busi- 
ness. He  was  succeeded  by  Everett  Warren,  private,  of  Com- 
pany A,  and  the  sergeant-major  of  the  Regiment  during  the 
year  previous  to  his  promotion. 

The  burdens  of  this  office  of  Adjutant  are  the  greatest  that 
are  imposed  upon  any  member  of  the  regiment ;  requiring 
so  much  time,  and  clerical  service,  that  it  can  only  be  an  impo- 
sition upon  any  business  man  in  the  National  Guard.  It  is 
certainly  unjust  to  the  officer,  and  an  imposition  upon  the 
whole  organization,  whose  comfort  and  efficiency  so  much 
depends  upon  the  Adjutant,  to  expect  or  require  him  to  serve 
without  sufficient  pay  to  enable  proper  men  to  undertake  the 
duties  of  the  office.  This  position  ought  to  be  filled  by  a 
salaried  officer  in  every  Regiment  of  the  National  Guard. 
The  Thirteenth  Regiment  has  certainly  had  a  succession  of 
the  best  adjutants  that  could  be  found  in  the  State.  Each 
one  of  them  has  acquitted  himself  with  the  highest  honor. 
All  of  them  had  been  members  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard. 
The  same  is  true  with  regard  to  all  the  members  in  the 
Field  and  Staff,  with  the  single  exception  of  Surgeon  Cum- 
mings,  of  the  Honesdale  Guards,  who  succeeded  Surgeon 
Dunnell  as  the  surgeon  of  the  regiment.  All  the  officers 
of  the  Field  and  Staff,  both  commissioned  and  non-commis- 


TRUTHS  AND  TRANSITIONS.  335 

sioned,  in  the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  have  been  taken  from  the 
companies  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard;  and  most  of  them  have 
been  members  of  the  organization  from  the  time  the  four 
companies  were  mustered  into  service. 

The  Medical  Staff  has,  from  the  organization  of  the  City 
Guard,  held  a  high  position,  both  by  professional,  character 
and  the  laborious  efficiency  with  which  these  officers  have 
guarded  the  health,  and  the  morals,  of  the  regiment.  Nathan 
Y.  Leet,  the  first  Surgeon  of  the  Guard,  was  a  United  States 
army  surgeon  of  wide  reputation.  He  wore  the  Major's 
shoulder-straps  with  distinguished  honor  throughout  the  four 
years  of  the  great  rebellion.  Some  of  the  most  scientific  sur- 
gical operations  that  were  performed  in  the  field  stand  re- 
corded to  his  honor  in  the  medical  archives  of  the  Government. 
While  in  full  sympathy  with  the  organization,  the  doctor  could 
never  quite  gain  his  own  consent  to  exchange  his  honorable, 
and  well-worn,  shoulder-straps  for  those  of  a  single-barred 
Lieutenant,  or  to  march  in  the  Government  service  even  with 
the  straps  of  a  major,  under  a  commander  who,  whatever 
might  be  his  military  genius,  had  his  military  reputation  yet 
to  make. 

He  generously  gave  his  influence  and  his  medical  services 
whenever  needed,  and  allowed  his  name  to  stand  for  more 
than  a  year  at  the  head  of  the  medical  staff  of  the  Guard ; 
while  his  Assistant,  Dr.  Henry  N.  Dunnell,  who  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  Company  D,  did  the  work,  and  marched  with  the 
medical  chest.  Dr.  Dunnell  made  an  excellent  reputation 
while  Assistant  Surgeon,  by  the  invention  and  supply  of  a 
medical  chest,  which,  by  its  great  convenience  and  variety, 
of  medical  stores  contained  in  portable  shape,  surpassed,  as 
is  generally  believed,  any  provision  in  the  National  Guard  for 
camp  and  field  medical  service. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  13th  Regiment,  Dr.  Leet  de- 
clined further  appointment,  and  Dr.  Dunnell  was  placed  at  the 


336  A   CITY'S   DANGER   AND   DEFENSE. 

head  of  the  Medical  Staff  with  the  rank  of  Major.  He  rilled 
the  position  with  ability  and  acceptance  for  two  years,  when 
he  resigned  because  of  ill  health,  and  the  pressure  of  profes- 
sional business.  Dr.  W.  H.  Cummings,  was  appointed  Assist- 
ant Surgeon,  upon  the  promotion  of  surgeon  Dunnell  with 
the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant,  and  upon  the  resignation  of  his 
principal,  was  made  Surgeon  with  the  rank  of  Major.  Sur- 
geon Cummings  in  addition  to  his  medical  skill  and  patriotic 
devotion  to  the  physical  well  being  of  the  members  of  the 
Guard,  was  one  of  the  best  riflemen  in  the  Regiment.  He 
wore  the  crack  shot  badge  of  the  Field  and  Staff  each  year  of 
his  service.  His  first  Assistant  was  Henry  V.  Logan,  M.D., 
and  the  second  Assistant  was  Alex.  James  Connell,  M.D. 
Both  these  young  men  were  medical  students  at  the  time  of 
the  riots  of  1877,  and  were  identified  with  the  earliest  efforts 
to  organize  the  "  citizens'  corps."  They  both  entered  the  ser- 
vice as  privates  at  the  organization  of  Company  A,  and  served 
with  honor  until  their  promotion  to  the  staff.  At  the  com- 
pletion of  the  term  of  service  of  Col.  Boies,  Major  Cummings 
retired  with  the  other  members  of  the  staff.  Upon  the  pro- 
motion of  Col.  Hitchcock,  Dr.  H.  V.  Logan  was  commis- 
sioned Major,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  the  medical  staff,  and 
Dr.  A.  J.  Connell  with  the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant  was  ap- 
pointed First  Assistant.  Dr.  Logan  had  made  a  reputation 
for  efficiency  and  devotion  to  duty  in  the  service,  whatever 
position  he  occupied,  and  earned  his  promotion  by  his  fidelity 
in  camp  and  field.  He  inaugurated  a  system  of  watchfulness 
and  inspection  in  camp,  which  was  of  great  service  in  securing 
healthfulness  to  the  command.  Whenever  the  Regiment  was 
ordered  out  for  drill,  or  was  on  the  march,  the  Surgeon  with 
his  equipment,  his  medical  stores  and  his  Hospital  Steward 
was  found  ready  for  professional  duty.  Whenever  a  soldier 
showed  symptoms  of  weakness  he  was  ordered  out  of  the 
ranks  for  treatment.     Or  if  any,  overcome  by  the  heat,  fell  by 


TRUTHS  AND   TRANSITIONS.  337 

the  way,  the  Surgeon  or  one  of  the  Assistants  was  always  at 
hand  to  afford  immediate  medical  treatment.  The  prompt- 
ness and  constancy  with  which  Dr.  Logan,  and  his  indefatiga- 
ble assistants,  fulfilled  their  duty,  gave  the  medical  staff  of  the 
13th  Regiment  a  reputation  throughout  the  Brigade  and 
Division.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  in  camp  for  a  call  to  come 
from  both  Brigade  and  Division  Headquarters  for  the  Sur- 
geons of  the  Thirteenth,  when  exigencies  called  for  immediate 
medical  skill ;  and.  this  was  due  to  the  fact  that  either  the 
Major  or  one  of  his  assistants  was  always  visible  when  the 
Regiment  was  in  the  field.  Dr.  A.  J.  Connell  proved  himself 
a  most  excellent  Surgeon,  and  fulfilled  his  term  of  service  to 
universal  acceptance.  For  six  years  he  marched  with  the 
City  Guard  and  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  position,  in  the  ranks 
and  on  the  staff,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  his  comrades,  while 
burdened  with  the  perplexities  of  professional  preparations, 
and  fulfilling  the  duties  of  increasing  professional  practice. 
Both  Surgeons  Logan  and  Connell  deserved  and  secured  the 
deep  and  universal  gratitude  of  both  officers  and  men  for 
their  long-continued  and  able  services  to  the  Scranton  City 
Guard,  and  to  the  13th  Regiment.  They  both  tendered  their 
resignations  in  October  of  1886,  on  account  of  the  demands 
of  professional  service  incident  to  the  successful  practice  of 
medicine.  But  the  reluctance  of  officers  and  men  to  lose 
their  services  and  their  companionship,  prevented  the  accept- 
ance of  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Logan,  and  postponed  that  of 
Dr.  Connell  for  six  months,  when  he  was  relieved.  Dr.  Frey 
in  his  two  years'  service  has  shown  himself  entirely  worthy  to 
take  the  place  of  either  of  his  ranking  officers  in  his  department ; 
and  upon  the  acceptance  of  Dr.  Connell's  resignation,  he  was 
promoted  to  his  position,  and  H.  D.  Gardner,  M.D.  was  ap- 
pointed 2d  Assistant  Surgeon,  with  rank  of  First  Lieutenant. 

Without  doubt  Dr.  Gardner  will  prove  a  worthy  acquisition, 
both  to  the  Medical  Staff  and  the  Regiment. 
22 


338  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

With  regard  to  the  men,  who  have  constituted  the  rank  and 
file  in  the  ten  years  march  of  the  City  Guard,  it  must  be  re- 
corded, that  as  a  body,  they  have  stood  as  an  exception  even  in 
the  National  Guards  of  Pennsylvania.  In  many  cases  the  pri- 
vate's uniform  clothed  as  accomplished  a  gentleman,  and  as 
able  and  worthy  a  man  as  any  who  were  called  to  command. 
There  were  men  worthy  of  the  rank  and  command  of  the  Colo- 
nel, who  served  six  and  eight  years,  refusing  anything  higher 
than  the  chevrons  of  a  sergeant,  or  corporal.  Many  who  had 
been  promoted  to  honorable  commands,  resigned  their  commis- 
sions, and  went  back  into  the  ranks  to  bear  the  burdens  of 
the  common  Guardsman.  And  in  many  cases  the  officers  of 
the  Company  were  hardly  a  fair  average  of  either  the  charac- 
ter, ability,  or  social  standing,  of  the  men  in  the  ranks  which 
they  commanded.  The  author  has  seen  a  whole  company 
stand  immovable,  without  the  apparent  change  of  a  muscle, 
when  a  wrong  order  was  given  by  the  officer  in  command,  on 
parade.  Thus  they  stood  in  silence  until  the  officer  had  time 
to  discover  and  correct  his  mistake,  and  this  was  evidently 
without  the  possibility  of  preconcert. 

Men  were  called  from  the  ranks  to  positions  upon  the  field 
and  staff  of  the  Regiment ;  of  the  Brigade  ;  and  of  the  Governor 
of  the  State.  And  of  the  original  organization  and  of  the  men 
who  first  constituted  the  Four  Companies  of  the  City  Guard  it 
may  be  truthfully  said,  that  the  majority  were  as  worthy  of  pro- 
motion, and  would  doubtless  have  proved  as  efficient  to  com- 
mand as  those  who  accepted  the  promotions  and  successfully 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  their  positions. 

With  few  exceptions,  the  members  of  the  Guard  were  with- 
out taste  or  ambition  for  military  honors,  or  preferment.  They 
entered  the  ranks  for  service,  and  upon  the  conviction  that 
their  service  was  needed  to  insure  the  administration  of  law 
without  menace,  and  to  protect  the  property  of  the  citizens  from 
unlawful  combinations  of  passion  and  force. 


TRUTHS   AND   TRANSITIONS.  339 

The  bondage  and  duties  of  the  soldier,  always  irksome  to  a 
free  and  unmilitary  people,  they  undertook,  with  courage ;  and 
by  upright  and  manly  adaptation  and  obedience  to  discipline, 
they  made  the  Guard  a  happy  association  to  which  they  be- 
came greatly  attached. 

The  change  of  the  personnel  of  the  Guard  has  been  so  grad- 
ual, and  the  work  of  preparing  recruits  for  the  places  made  va- 
cant so  diligently  prosecuted,  that  the  life  of  the  battalion  flows 
on  peacefully,  and  the  identity  of  the  Guard,  in  its  high  posi- 
tion, has  been  preserved. 

The  13th  Regiment  still  holds  its  high  position  in  the  Na- 
tional Guard ;  and  still  sends  its  rifle  teams  to  the  front  in  the 
annual  contest.  It  adorns  its  headquarters  with  the  beautiful 
silver  pitcher  which  was  offered  by  the  State,  and  presented 
by  the  Governor  to  the  best  Regimental  Rifle  Team.  And  al- 
though its  veterans  are  scattered,  and  absorbed  in  the  business 
enterprises  which  lead  away  from  all  thoughts  of  guns  and 
military  duties ;  and  although  many  of  the  fathers  who  sacri- 
ficed for  its  organization  and  kept  step  with  its  march,  have 
"  fallen  on  sleep,"  the  City  Guard  still  has  the  confidence  and 
is  the  pride  of  the  City  that  gave  it  birth. 

Thus  throughout  a  ten  years'  service,  with  the  fewest 
exceptions,  the  officers  and  men  who  rushed  to  the  rescue 
in  the  day  of  the  city"s  clanger;  and  enlisted  under  the 
sanctions  of  a  sacred  oath  to  give  the  city  of  Scranton  a 
Guard  worthy  of  its  own  interests  and  character;  and  worthy 
of  the  Country  to  which  it  belongs,  have  fulfilled  their  patriotic 
duty. 

Those  who  have  completed,  honorably,  their  term  of  ser- 
vice, are  still  interested  to  cheer  on  those  who  follow  in  their 
footsteps.  Each  worthy  veteran  is  an  efficient  recruiting  offi- 
cer for  the  company  in  which  he  served  ;  and  in  the  high  places 
of  the  field,  on  Brigade,  Division  and  Governor's  Staff,  the 
Regiment  still  has  its  representatives   from  the  City  Guard  to 


340  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

call  attention  to  the  march,  and  provide  for  the  needs  of  the 
honored  13th  Regiment. 

If  any  of  its  members  have  proved  unfaithful,  or  have  been 
dishonorably  discharged,  they  are  so  few,  and  have  shown 
themselves  so  insignificant  in  the  community,  that  it  is  hardly 
known  outside  of  the  Guard  itself  that  they  have  been  so  dis- 
honored. 

The  Annual  Encampment  for  military  instruction  and  exer- 
cise ;  which  was  the  practical  suggestion  of  the  Scranton  City 
Guard,  and  by  the  demonstration  of  its  use  and  practicability, 
at  its  own  expense,  became  its  legacy  to  the  Commonwealth ; 
was,  in  all  the  years,  the  time  of  genuine  refreshment  to  all  the 
young  soldiers  who  were  so  constantly  harnessed  to  the  busi- 
ness of  life.  Life  for  a  week  in  Camp  became,  both  by  antici- 
pation and  recollection,  a  way-mark  in  the  march  of  existence. 
A  buoyant  life  it  was,  glorified  with  manly  exercises  in  manly 
arts ;  spiced  with  the  sparkle  and  novelty  of  a  social  mingling, 
entirely  free  from  the  artificial  trammels  of  society.  It  became, 
to  all  who  fulfilled  honestly  their  duty,  a  blessed  oasis  in  the 
pilgrimage  of  life.  Fare  and  fun,  shadow,  sunshine  and  show- 
ers; "Advance  Guard,"  Commissary  Stores  and  Quartermas- 
terly  perplexities  ;  "  guard  mount  "  and  careful  guard  running 
for  the  conscientious  purpose  of  instructing  and  exercising  sen- 
tinels ;  the  genius  of  good  fellowship  and  grotesqueness  ;  these 
all  combine  and  sweep  across  the  vision  of  the  veteran,  as  he 
hears  the  music  and  listens  to  the  tread  of  the  13th  Regiment 
in  its  annual  march  to  the  Field. 

There  is  the  Dress  Parade,  and  the  parade  without  any 
amount  of  dress  to  speak  of.  There  is  the  practical  joke, 
which  sends  the  guffaw  of  laughter  all  over  the  camp  ;  because 
men  have  become  boys  again,  and  are  in  the  humor  to  be 
pleased.  Then,  there  is  the  solemn  gathering  of  straws  in  the 
early  morning,  by  the  gang  of  Special  Police,  extemporized 
from  the   band  of  unfortunates,  who   last   night  succeeded 


CONCLUSION  AND   BENEDICTION.  341 

gloriously  in  passing  the  pickets  one  way,  but  ingloriously  fell 
into  a  failure  on  the  return  !  Then,  there  were  the  hundred 
songs  of  the  evening,  when,  music,  like  a  flooding  fountain, 
burst  up  in  every  company  street,  and  sent  its  streams  rippling 
along  under  every  tent-fly,  when  fragments  of  melody,  sacred 
and  secular,  mingled  promiscuously  with  the  social  rest  of  the 
evening  hour.  There,  too,  was  the  sharp  ring  of  the  Colonel's 
order  for  his  horse,  which,  like  an  electrical  battery,  put  life  in 
the  regimental  legs,  bipedal  and  quadrupedal,  and  served  to 
mark  time  for  Adjutants  and  Drum-Majors.  Then,  there  was 
the  great-hearted  Major,  with  his  tireless  energy,  and  his  chro- 
nic wrath  against  shirks,  and  colored  waiters;  and  who  only 
grew  the  more  genial  and  kind-hearted  by  the  eruption  of  his 
small  volcano.  There  was  the  search  for  borrowed  lanterns, 
and  the  unexpected  and  amazing  discovery  so  frequent  that 
the  Chaplain's  tent  had  been  fortuitously  pitched  in  the  midst 
of  the  ruins  of  some  unfortunate  dealer  in  bottles  and  corks. 
There  was  the  sham  battle  and  the  thorough  drill,  with  their 
real  work  and  refreshing  excitement ;  and  the  hum  and  drone 
of  the  voices  of  the  night  when  the  day's  duties  were  done. 
These,  and  a  thousand  other  recollections  sweep  about  among 
the  Brothers  of  the  Guard,  with  blessed  cups  of  refreshment 
for  the  weary  soul  in  the  dust  of  life,  and  their  strong  ties  with 
which  to  bind  comrades  together.  To  deliberately  write  up 
the  camp-life  of  the  13th  Regiment  could  only  be  a  blundering 
attempt  to  commit  murder  in  cold  blood.  It  was  a  life  to  be 
felt  and  enjoyed;  not  to  be  detailed,  and  marshaled  in  the 
shackles  of  speech.  There  is  a  joy,  as  well  as  a  grief,  with 
which  the  "  stranger  intermeddleth  not."  This  was  the  joy  of 
the  camp-life  of  the  Scranton  City  Guards.  Strangers  meddle 
with  it  ?     They  had  better  not. 

But  the  "  tattoo  "  sounds  among  the  hills,  and  seems  to  be 
re-echoed  from  the  cliff  of  clouds  which  close  the  doors  of 
departed  day.     It  sweeps  through  the  camp  with   its  solemn 


342 


A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


warning  of  the  duties  that  remain  for  the  closing  hour.  The 
"  guards  "  are  set  and  the  "  watch-word  "given.  The  mono- 
tonous music  of  "  roll-call  "  with  its  variations,  high  and  low, 
bass  and  tenor,  has  disturbed  the  stillness  only  to  announce 
with  the  good-night  salute  "all  present  or  accounted  for." 

"  Taps  "  come  speedily  to  "  put  out  all  lights ;  "  save  those 
which  have  been  enkindled  in  the  hearts  of  men  and  brothers ; 
who  have  marched  together  to  the  music  of  a  Free  Country's 
Glory  and  Honor.  These  burn  on,  in  the  blessed  glow  of 
Christian  love,  through  the  silent  hours  of  meditation  and  rest. 
In  the  deep  darkness  of  that  mysterious  night,  through  which 
each  of  us  in  his  turn  shall  pass,  alone,  these  lights  no  "  taps '' 
shall  extinguish. 

Brothers  of  the  march,  of  the  watch,  and  of  the  camp  ! 
the  Chaplain  has  tried  to  record  some  of  your  worthy 
deeds,  and  now  he  leaves  you  his  hearty 


Bcnc&tctiotu 


APPENDIX  A. 


343 


APPENDIX  (A). 


HISTORIC   ROLL  OF   COMPANY  A,  SCRANTON   CITY 

GUARD. 

Roll  of  Officers  and  Enlisted  Men  of  Company  A,  ijtk  Regi- 
ment, N.  G.  P.,  from  Aug.  14,  i8jy,  to  June  J,  1887. 

(  The  list  of  officers  shows  the  highest  rank  attained  while  in  the  company  during 

the  above  period.) 

CAPTAINS. 
Bryeon,  Andrew,  Jr.,  com.  capt.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  res.  Sept.  17,  1878. 
Knapp,  Henry  A.,  com.  1st  lieut.  Aug.  14,  1877 ;  com.  capt.  Oct.  7,  1878  ;  res.  June  21, 1880 ; 

re-enl.  same  date  in  Co  A  ;  com.  niaj.  and  judge  ady.  3d  Brigade,  N.  G.  P.,  July  25,  1SS5. 
Watres,  Louis  A.,  com.  2d  lieut.  Co.  C,  S.  C.  G.,  Aug.  14,  1877 ;  1st  lieut.  Feb.  8,  1878  ;  capt. 

Co.  A,  13th  Regt.,  July  15,  1880  ;  col  and  gen  ins.  rifle  practice  Jan.,  1887,  on  Governor 

Beaver's  staff. 
Mattes,  Charles  C,  enl.  in  Co.  C,  S.  C.  G.,  April  29,  1878;  corp.  April  9,  1879 ;  sergt.  July  1, 

18S0  :  sergt.maj.  13th  Regt.  Jan.  20,  18S1  ;  adjt.  Oct.  in,  1881 ;  re-app.  adjt.  Oct.  26, 1883  ; 

1st  lieut.  Co.  A,  13th  Regt.,  July,  1885  ;  capt.  Feb.  14,  1887. 

FIRST    LIEUTENANTS. 
Smith,  Edward  J  ,  com.  2d  lieut.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  1st  lieut.  Oct.  7,  1878;  res.  Oct.,  1883. 
Barnard,  George  F.,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  corp.  Aug.  14,  1877:  sergt.  March  2, 1878  ;  1st  sergt. 

Jan.  13,  1879  ;  2d  lieut.  Aug.  30,  1880  ;  1st  lieut.  Oct.  29, 1883  ;  res.  June,  1885. 
Chase,  Edward  E.,  enl.  May  2, 1879  ;  re  enl.  May  2,  1884;  corp.  Nov.  5,  1882;  sergt.  Bee.  22, 

1884;  1st  sergt.  April  27, 1885  ;  1st  ltetit  Feb.  14, 1887. 

SECONL    LIEUTENANTS. 
Macmillan,  Robert,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1877  ;  1st  sergt.  Aug.  14,  1877 ;  2d  lieut.  Oct.  7,  1878;  adjt. 

13th  Regt.  Nov.  13, 1878  ;  res. ;  re-enl.  in  Co.  A  April  24,  18S2,  aud  1887. 
Highriter,  John  C ,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  sergt.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  2d  lieut.  Dec.  2,  1S78  ;  res. 

June  24,'  1880. 
Andrews,  Morris  J.,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1877;  corp.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  sergt.  Nov.  4,  1878  ;  1st  sergt. 

Oct.  18,  1880  ;  2d  lieut  Oct.  29,  1883. 


Arthur,  Charles. 


Albro,  John  P. 
Boj-d,  William  S. 
Chittenden,  Charles  E. 
Conklin,  Cloud  C. 
Dolph,  Edward  S. 
Uess,  Henry  E. 


FIRST  SERGEANTS 
Post,  Isaac, 

SERGEANTS. 
Hosie,  James  P. 
Mace,  Herbert  A. 
Mott,  Joseph  A. 
McClave,  William  R. 
Huntington,  Stephen  V.  D. 
Osthaus,  Herman.* 


Lee,  Arthur  H. 


Parrott,  George. 
Torrey,  James  II. 
Throop,  George  S. 
Thomas,  David  M. 
Walters,  Charles  F. 
Watrous,  Friend  B. 


*  Com.  1st  lieut.  and  regcl.  ins.  of  rifle  practice  June  0,  18S7. 


344 


A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


Beeber,  Kimball  H. 
Bushnell,  William  C. 
Biesecker,  0.  W. 
Barr,  Alexander. 
Chamberlin,  Josiah. 
Cox.  Herbert  M. 
Doud,  Curtis  W. 
Foster,  Henry  J. 
Foster,  George  B. 


Atkinson,  Dwigbt  K. 
Atkinson,  Alfred. 
Bartlett.  Charles. 
Blanchard,  Wilber  S. 
Baldwin,  Edward  F. 
Brady  Edward. 
Barnard,  Frederick. 
Bartlett,  Charles  B. 
Blatter,  John. 
Brooks,  Arthur  A. 
Bonn,  Albert. 
Buell,  Walter  H. 
Burnett,  Roger  L. 
Bryant,  Charles  F. 
Bluim,  Charles  D. 
Bloom,  Charles  W. 
Burdick,  Henry. 
Barnard,  Edward. 
Bertine,  Edward  L. 
Corbett,  Melvin  J. 
Coursen,  Edward  O. 
Connell,  A.  James.* 
Chamberlain,  Edward. 
Clark,  Frank  E. 
Clark,  William  0. 
Campbell,  Jacob  F. 
Curtis,  Edward. 
Cole,  William. 
Chamberlin,  Edward  F. 
Clock,  John  N. 
Corse,  Clayton  G. 
Coryell,  George  K. 
Clough,  Charles  M. 
Comegys,  Cornelius. 
Craig,  William. 
Cunningham,  M.  Geo. 
Clark,  Jacob  J. 
Dickinson,  Wharton. 
Duer,  William  A. 
Dean,  X.  J. 
Disler,  Wyent.     . 
Doersam,  George. 
De  Witt,  George  M. 
Dimmick,  Jacob  0. 
Dimmick,  George  B. 
Davis,  Roger  E. 
*  Com.  asst.  surg.  April 


CORPORALS. 
Hayes,  Sidney  T. 
Jermyn,  Walter  M. 
Kingsbury,  N.  J.  W. 
Kingsbury,  Fredk.  H. 
Keller,  Jefferson  M. 
Logan,  Arthur  C. 
Norrman,  Axel  J. 
O'Connell,  William. 
Partridge,  Orlando  B. 
Robertson,  Nathaniel  G. 

PRIVATES 
Evans,  Edward. 
Evans,  John  W. 
Eckman,  Philip  N. 
Foote,  D.  L. 
Farr,  John  R. 
Fern,  John  R. 
Fields,  Benj.  D. 
Frear,  James  E. 
Fisher,  Fredk.  G. 
Furman,  Leander  B. 
Gaige,  Oren  J. 
Goodrich,  E.  F. 
Greeuwood,  Henry. 
Gregory,  Marion  A. 
Hosie,  John  H. 
Hand,  Fred.  C. 
Henn,  Frank. 
Humphrey,  David  W. 
Harris,  David. 
Heil,  Joseph 
Huntington,  Joseph  C. 
Hobbs,  Joseph. 
Hull,  Harvey  J. 
Hayes,  Andrew. 
Hitchcock,  Edwin  S. 
Healy,  Louis  W. 
Hughes,  Thomas  R. 
Hitchcock,  Henry  P. 
Jay,  William  C. 
Jones,  Edmund  J. 
Jacobs,  Fredk.  A. 
Jay,  Edwin  R. 
Jossey,  Jacob. 
Jones,  George  F. 
Kramer,  Charles  A. 
Krigbaum,  William  L. 
Koons,  Frank  D. 
Kern,  Charles  J. 
Killam,  Benj.  F. 
Koch,  Louis  V. 
Kingsbury,  Selden  H. 
Kingsbury,  Charles  E. 
Leyshon,  John  G. 
Logan,  Harry  Y.f 
La  Bar,  Lorenzo  G. 
Longshaw,  John  R. 

18, 18S1.        f  Com.  as6t.  surg.  Jan. 


Smith,  Andrew  C. 
Stone,  Calvin  E. 
Sloat,  Elmer  C. 
Shafer,  Hampton  C. 
Stackhouse,  Winfield  S. 
Stillwell,  Fredk.  W. 
Weidner.  Charles  G. 
Whitlock,  Sidney  B. 
Ward,  Winfield  F. 


La  Touche,  Reno  M. 
Marple,  William  M. 
Marvine,  James  A. 
Maclaren,  William  A. 
Mayer,  George  L. 
Moses,  Henry  D. 
Mitchell,  Richard. 
McClure,  Harold  M. 
McArthur,  Henry  W. 
Morris,  Percival  J. 
Monies,  Arthur. 
Mason,  W.  Fred. 
Morgan,  Togarmah. 
Maschal,  Thomas  D. 
Neues,  George. 
Noll,  John. 
Otto,  Frederick  G. 
Oakford,  James  W. 
Paterson,  William  W. 
Pass,;William.  • 
Parfrey,  Alfred  D. 
Pallman,  Charles  M. 
Powell,  Charles  J. 
Parfrey,  Aaron  T. 
Peckens,  Ezra  R. 
rhillips,  George  W. 
Phillips,  Frank  L. 
Poore,  John  W. 
Parrott,  Eugene  M. 
Roberts,  Austin  K. 
Repp,  Eugene. 
Ridgeway,  Edward  M. 
Ross,  Saever  C. 
Robinson,  Gilbert  D. 
Rittenhouse,  James  H. 
Robeson,  Anthony  M. 
Reaves,  Robert. 
Riley,  Theodore  W. 
Robertson,  John  H. 
Robertson,  William  G. 
Scheppel,  Charles  M. 
Schlager,  Alfred  H. 
Smith,  M.  D. 
Smith,  Fred.  D. 
Schlager,  John  H. 
Stevens,  David  R. 

1,  18S0  ;  com.  surg.  1884. 


APPENDIX  A. 


345 


Scott,  J.  W 
Smith,  J.  Boyd. 
Seamans,  Charles  S. 
Seymour,  Lewis  J. 
Spencer,  Frarfk  M. 
Seigle,  John  H. 
Seamans,  William  K. 
Smith,  Frank  A. 
Speece,  William. 
Sherrerd,  Morris  R. 


privates — (Continued). 
Svenson,  John. 
Stearns,  Edmund  N. 
Thompson,  Crandall,  Jr. 
Tinkham,  J.  L. 
Thompi-on,  Edwin  L. 
Vernoy,  Edward  M. 
Widdovfield,  Rohert. 
Wagner,  Frank  E. 
White,  Charles  W. 
Walter,  George  J. 


Watkins,  Reese. 
WilliamB,  Alvinza  D. 
Wade,  Charles  E. 
Warren,  Everett.* 
Ward,  John  D. 
Wilson,  Alfred  A. 
Welles,  Theodore  L. 
Watson,  Walter  L. 
Zeller,  Herman  G. 
Zimmerman,  Reuben  A. 


MEMBERS   OF   COMPANY    "  a"    WHD   HAVE  SHOT   ON   THE  STATE   TEAMS   AT 

CREEDMOOR,    I..    I. 

Morris  J.  Andrews,  1881,  1882,  1883,  1884, 

1885,  1886. 
John   Blatter,  1880,  1881,  1882,  1883,  1884, 


1885,  188G. 
George  F.  Barnard,  1879. 
Edward  E  Chase,  1883,  1884,  1885. 
Edward  F.  Chamberlin,  1881. 


(1)  Sanderson  Prize,  1879, 1880,  18S1  final. 

(2)  Company  D  Trophy,  1882  final. 

(3)  Citizens'  Trophy,  1883-1884. 

(4)  Company  A  Trophy,  1883  final. 
For  seven  successive  years,  beginning 

berehip,  a  record  unparalleled  in  the  hist 
out  of  nine  regimental  sharpshooters,  A  ( 
The  company  has  also  been  active  in 
more  in  1882,  against  five  competitors,  an< 
ton,  D.  C,  in  1884,  on  which  occasion,  h 
competition  took  place. 


George  B.  Foster,  1880, 1881. 

Joseph  C.  Huntington,  1883, 1884, 1885, 188G. 

Robert   Macmillan,  1879,   1882,  1883,  1884, 

1885,  1886. 
Axel  J.  Norrman,  1880. 
James  H.  Rittenhouse,  1882. 
James  H.  Torrey,  1882,  1883. 

TEAMS  IN   RIFLE   PRACTICE. 

(5)  Chaplain's  Prize,  1884  final. 

(6)  Junior  Marksmen's  1st  Prize,  1884. 

(7)  Junior  Marksmen's  2d  Prize,  1885,  1886. 

(8)  Jermyn  Trophy,  1886. 
in  1S80,  this  company  has  qualified  its  entire  mem- 
ory of  marksmanship.    During  the  season  of  1886, 
'onipany  possessed  four. 

competitive  drills,  winning  2d  prize  ($500)  at  Balti- 
1  receiving  many  marks  of  distinction  at  Washing- 
owever,  all  money  prizes  were  withdrawn  before 


HISTORIC   ROLL  OF   COMPANY   B,   SCRANTON   CITY 

GUARD. 

Roll  of  Officers  and  Enlisted  Men  of  Company  B,  ijtli  Regi- 
ment, N.  G.  P.,  from  Aug.  /</,  i8yj,  to  June  1,  1887. 

(  The  list  of  officers  shows  the  highest  rank  attained  luhilc  in  the  company  during 

the  above  period.) 

CAPTAINS. 
Merriam,  R.  B.,  com.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  res.  Jan.  16, 1878. 
Bartholomew,   Daniel,  com.  1st  lieut.  Aug.  14,  1877;  com.  capt.  Feb.  13, 1878  ;  res.  Nov.  1, 

1881. 
Kellow,  William,  com.  2d  lieut.  Aug.  14,  3  877;  com.  1st  lieut.  Feb.  13,  1878  ;  com.  capt.  Nov. 

30,  1881 ;  re-com.  capt.  Nov.  30, 1886. 

FIRST   LIEUTENANT. 
Madison,  H.  R.,  enl.  in  Co.  B,  S.  C.  G.,  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  app.  3d  sergt.  Aug.  15,  1877 ;  2d  sergt. 
March  6, 1878  ;  1st  sergt.  Nov.  18, 1878  ;  com.  2d  lieut.  Oct.  29, 1879  ;  com.  1st  lieut.  Nov- 
30,  1881 ;  re-com.  1st  lieut.  Nov.  30,  l;j8(i. 

*  App.  sergt. -maj. 


346 


A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


SECOND   LIEUTENANTS. 
Fuller,  Charles  K.,  enl.  in  Co.  B  Aug.  14, 1877  ;  1st  eergt.  Aug.,  1877  ;  com.  2d  lieut.  Feb.  13, 

1878  ;  res.  Oct.  29, 1879. 

Millar,  W.  S.,  enl.  in  Co.  B,  S.  C.  G.,  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  app.  corp.  Aug.  17,  1877  ;  sergt.  May  3, 

1879  ;  com.  2d  lieut.  Nov.  30,  1881  ;  res.  July  20,  1885. 

Williams,  Thomas  J.,  enl.  Aug.  17, 1881 ;  app.  sergt.  March  23,  1883  ;  1st  sergt.  May  14, 1884 
com.  2d  lieut.  July  20,  1885. 


Fuller,  Chas.  R. 
Watts,  W.  J. 
Hine,  Miles  D. 


Logan,  W'm.  K. 
Bailey,  John. 
Kemmerer,  L.  D. 
Newman,  D.  J. 
Spragle,  Lorenzo. 
Storm,  Hayden  R. 


Fuller,  Harry  G. 
Brightman,  V'ni.  A.  W. 
Morris,  George  A. 
Pierce,  Win.  H. 
Fuller,  James  A. 
Fowler,  IVm.  M. 
Fassold,  W'm.  G. 
Leamy,  Daniel  A. 


McWilliams,  Alexander. 
McDonnell,  Wm.  C. 
Wolfe,  Frank. 
Gager,  George  W. 
Tail,  James  W. 
Ferber,  Jacob. 
Slautz,  Charles. 
Sweezy,  M.  J. 
Derby,  Andrew  J. 
Sharpe,  Wm.  L. 
Watts,  Thomas  H. 
Whitbeck,  John  E. 
Young,  Wm.  H. 
Soelner,  Edward. 
Lewert,  Jacob  0. 
Poland,  George. 
Williams,  Walter. 
Smale,  Peter. 
Miley,  Frank. 
Dimler,  Frederick. 
Carey,  C.  W. 
Dean,  J.  C. 
Shillston,  Frank. 
Tiffany,  P.  G. 

*Pro. 

fPro 


FIRST  SERGEANTS. 
Chittenden,  Charles  E. 
Clarke,  Wm.  E. 

SERGEANTS. 
Hine,  Wm.  E. 
Carey,  James  B. 
Goodwin,  Walter  H. 
Godshall,  J.  D. 
Miller,  John. 
Peppard,  Wm.  H. 
Crosdale,  Harry  B. 

CORPORALS. 
Brown,  George  B. 
Charles,  Robert. 
Bortree,  L.  C. 
Howe,  John  T. 
Bacon,  H.  G. 
Graff,  Martin. 
Olldorf,  Joseph. 
Smith,  Peter  P. 
Tompkins,  James. 

PRIVATE9. 

Vail,  Amos. 

Carey,  Charles  W. 

Deats,  John  A. 

Cogswell,  Herman  E. 

Bonn,  Henry. 

Dermuth,  Jacob. 

Dippre,  John. 

Grambs,  Frederick. 

Foote,  Adelbert  L. 

Nichols,  L.  W. 

Cooper,  Charles  L. 

Kelder,  Wm.  B. 

Metzgar,  Peter. 

Sherwood,  William. 

Van  Sickles,  Louis. 

Wilson,  S.  J. 

Watson,  John  D. 

Hayes,  John  J. 

Brock,  Henry. 

Kesty,  Charles  C. 

Ottinger,  Frank. 

Dunning,  Abram  B.  Jr. 

Angle,  John  D. 

Bird,  Adam. 
to  adjutancy  13th  Regt.,  rank  of  1st 
to  q.m.-sergt.  on  Col.  Boies'  staff. 


Campbell,  George  A. 
Shawe,  Herbert  R. 
Chamberlin,  Edward  F.* 


Jones,  Wm.  W. 
Cutler,  Wm.  H. 
Woolsey,  Judson  B. 
Dieter,  Robert. 
Elsinger,  Daniel. 
Evans,  J.  W. 


Kester.  George  B. 
McClintock,  T.  J. 
Powell,  Arja  V. 
Harvey,  Georg.e  S. 
Shaffer,  James. 
Horton,  L.  M.f 
McFarland,  Frank. 
Bushnell,  W.  C. 


Olldorf,  Joseph. 
Cannon.  C.  W. 
Adler,  Henry. 
Moir,  John  W. 
Baird,  John  F. 
Dowdell,  Geo.  W. 
Flanders,  James. 
Smale,  Peter  P. 
Fiedler,  F.  W. 
Hayes,  James. 
Phillips,  John. 
Day,  Delbert. 
Klotz,  John  R. 
Weeks,  Frank  E. 
Fuller,  Phineas  H. 
Thirwell,  George  E. 
Penworth,  Julius. 
Teeter,  Charles  L. 
Kennady,  James  D. 
Block,  William. 
Bennett,  George  F. 
Lewis,  Harvey  S. 
Steinback,  Marvin. 
Bourger,  Joseph, 
lieut. 


APPENDIX  A. 


347 


Griffin,  George. 
Wilson,  Harry. 
Fisher,  B.  W. 
Riach,  James  P. 
Jacobs,  C.  S. 
Evans,  G.  A. 
Frier,  A. 
Carr,  A.  L. 
Lord,  A.  D. 
Webley,  Wm. 
Ferber,  Henry  F. 
Rice,  S.  H. 
Roberts,  W.  K. 
Silkman,  Joseph  R. 
Sweet,  John  B. 
Stone,  J.  D. 
Swift,  C.  W. 
Taylor,  John. 
Kellerman,  Fred. 
Cowan,  Edward. 
Becker,  John. 
Payne,  Irving  L. 
Ballard,  J.  W. 
Mills,  James. 
Finch,  0.  S. 
Young,  Conrad. 
Miller,  Henry. 
Mulley,  Wm.  A. 
Dowd,  Frank  E. 
Luce,  J.  S. 
Aufrecht,  G. 
Coleman,  J  J. 
Umphred,  J.  W. 
Campbell,  George. 
Reynolds,  Phineas. 
Mulley,  Joseph  H. 
Courtright,  Frank. 


privates — (Continued). 

Rogus,  Joseph  W. 
Starkweather,  George. 
Tewksberry,  E.  M. 
Fisher,  Bert. 
Fordham,  Arthur  F. 
Forkel,  Wm.  F. 
Burdick,  Wm.  E. 
Foyne,  Charles. 
Pennwarden,  Frank. 
Witthauser,  George. 
Malons,  Frank. 
'     Lockard,  Edward. 
Madden,  John. 
Kramer,   Augustus. 
Farrell,  Harris  J. 
Mackf  y,  Charles  D. 
Ballari,  John  W. 
Krumbhar,  Christian. 
Tarvis,  Jullian. 
Follett,  Lewis  R. 
Kiefer,  Henry. 
Smith.  George  W. 
Hopewell,  Harry  W. 
Fowler,  Charles  S. 
Rhoads,  Charles. 
Stewart,  John  K. 
Hazen,  Joseph. 
Chambers,  Elmer  E. 
Webb,  Philip  B. 
Wirth,  Frederick. 
Nicholson,  C.  A. 
Fetzgar,  Philip. 
Cowles,  Wm.  L. 
Siebeit,  Fred.  C. 
Roerick,  Peter. 
Brown,  R.  H. 
Ruple,  John  S. 


Meinzer,  John. 
Rafter,  Wm.  E. 
Heinzler,  Joseph. 
Werner,  Frederick. 
Tichel,  Bruno. 
Vliet,  John  L. 
McArthur,  Henry. 
Siegel,  John  M. 
Terwilliger,  I.  Frank. 
Blackmar,  Daniel  H. 
White,  George  W. 
Fredenburg,  Frank. 
Nash,  Herbert  E. 
Davis,  Edward  S. 
Penman,  George. 
Cornish,  William  N. 
Palmer,  W.  W.    . 
Bennett,  W.  E. 
Kellow,  John  B. 
Bierman,  Anthony. 
Hadley,  William. 
Cyphers,  Abram  F. 
Lutz,  Jacob. 
Gilbert,  H.  James. 
Cutler,  U.  G. 
Weingartner,  Moses. 
Hopkins,  Henry. 
Thomas,  Robert  W. 
Meany,  William. 
Thatcher,  Owen. 
Stetter,  Charles. 
Wolf,  Richard. 
Reynolds,  Grove  W. 
Doyle,  Henry. 
Thomas,  Charles  F. 
McDermott,  Henry  F. 
Malott,  George. 


HISTORIC   ROLL  OF   COMPANY   C,  SCRANTON   CITY 

GUARD. 


Roll  of  Officers  and  Enlisted  Men  of  Company  C,  ijtli  Regi- 
ment, N.  G.  P.,  from  Aug.  14, 1877,  to  June  1,  i88j. 

( The  list  of  officers  shows  the  highest  rank  attained  while  in  the  company  during 

the  above  period.) 

CAPTAINS. 

Coursen,  Henry  A.,  com.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  elected  maj.  of  the  13th  Regt.  Oct.  10, 1883. 

Penman,  T.  F.,  com.  Nov.  3,  1883  ;  private  Co.  C  Aug.  14,  1877 ;  corp.  Aug.  14, 1877  ;  sergt. 
July  1,  1878 ;  2d  lieut.  April  24, 1870;  1st  lieut.  Aug.  3,  1880;  app.  and  com.  ordnance 
officer  and  ins.  of  rifle  prac.  of  3d  Brigade,  with  rank  of  maj.,  April  4,  1884. 

Moir,  James,  private  Aug.  24,  1877  ;  corp.  Jan.,  1878  ;  color  sergt.  March,  1879  ;  1st  sergt. 
July,  1881  ;  2d  lieut.  May  8,  1883  ;  1st  lieut.  Nov.  G,  1883  ;  com.  capt.  May  13,  1884. 


348 


A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


FIRST    LIEUTENANTS. 
Brown,  James  E.,  com.  1st  lieut.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  res.  Feb.  8,  1878. 
Watres,  Louis  A.,  com.  2d  lieut.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  1st  lieut.  Feb.  8,  1878 ;  elected  capt.  of  Co.  A 

July  15,  1880. 
Henwood,  'William  B.,  private  March  10,  1879  ;  corp.  Aug.  10,  1881  ;  sergt.  April  3,  1883 ;  1st 

sergt.  May,  18S3  ;  1st  lieut.  May  13,  1884. 

SECOND  LIEUTENANTS. 
Judson,  Cbarles  E.,  elected  Feb.  8,  1878 ;  res.  April  24,  1879. 
Dimiuick,  E.  J.,  private  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  corp.  Aug.  16,  1877  ;  sergt.  Aug.  31,  1877 ;  2d  lieut. 

July,  1880 ;  res.  early  in  1883. 
Gunster,  Charles  W.,  private  Aug.  21,  1877  ;  corp.  Sept.,  1877  ;  sergt.  July,  1880  ;  1st  sergt. 

May,  1S83 ;  2d  lieut.  Nov.  6,  1883. 


Manness,  W.  D. 


Bunnell,  H.  N. 
Seward,  Christian. 
Kerr,  S.  G.* 
demons,  F.  H. 
Mattes,  E.  C. 


Battin,  H.  S. 
Connell.C.  R. 
Daniels,  T.  P. 
Ayala,  Stephen. 
Reieig,  Joseph. 
Fuller,  G.  W.  S. 
Rockwell,  W.  B. 
Holliday,  John. 


Bensley,  Rudolph. 
Calver,  W.  L. 
Connell,  F.  H. 
Cust,  John  B. 
Gleason,  L.  J. 
Harper,  G.  R. 
Kierstead,  A.  B. 
Manness,  R.  O. 
Rice,  F.  W. 
Rozelle,  M.  B. 
Snow,  A. 
Simrell,  V.  A. 
Sweet,  H.  B. 
Schoonover,  S.  S. 
Schlager,  J.  W. 
Vanness,  \Vm. 
Wolf,  George  E. 
Walter,  A.  B. 
Miller,  A.  J. 
Farnham,  C.  E. 
Vanness,  Leopold. 
Bergerhoff,  Henry. 
Bradley,  J.  H. 


FIRST   SERGEANTS. 

Culver,  J.  H. 
Chase,  Herbert  B. 

SERGEANTS. 
Nolan,  James. 
Schoonover,  D.  W. 
Wagstaff,  Edward. 
Ferber,  C.  C. 
Morton,  Wm.  E.* 

CORPORALS. 
Dickson,  W.  M. 
Dunn,  Alex. 
Merrill.  H.  H. 
Maddocks,  Geo.  H  * 
Milligan,  Peter. 
Gunster,  H.  G. 
Roebling,  Frank. 

PRIVATES. 
Roth,  Amil. 
Bartlett,  C.  B. 
Bullard,  C.  O. 
Moir,  JaB.  S. 
Phillips,  R.  A. 
Phillips,  Herman. 
Mattes,  C.  C. 
Cannon,  C.  W. 
Van  Vallen,  C. 
Owens,  G.  W. 
Haag,  Otto. 
Knapp,  J.  C. 
Kingsbury,  E.  F. 
Hill,  Chas.  H. 
Halstead,  S. 
Potter,  Leroy. 
Parton,  PreBton. 
Welch,  W.  J. 
Ansley,  Lincoln. 
Belden,  E.  H. 
Cables,  Howard. 
Haines,  D.  S. 
Reading,  Isaac. 

*  App.  com. -sergt. 


Gunster,  George  N. 


Barker,  Frank  S. 
Raub,  W.  A. 
Seism,  D.  W. 
Godfrey,  F.  S. 
Healy,  Eugene. 


Hall,  Fred.  C. 
Ferber,  H.  W. 
Flynn,  Joseph. 
Holtham,  Thos. 
Lynde,  E.  H. 
Walden,  J.  S. 
Seward,  Wm.  L. 
Vosburg,  John. 


Hess,  Jno.  E. 
Smith,  H.  M. 
Bradbury,  N.  P. 
Blatter,  Edward. 
EdwardB,  Geo.  M. 
Longcore,  Geo. 
Mayhew,  F.  W. 
McNiebols,  W.  M. 
Murray,  G.  F. 
Smith,  E.  G. 
Moir,  Wallace. 
Barthel,  Chas.  F. 
Devine,  David. 
Hull,  Howard. 
Taylor,  Herbert  L. 
Sheppard,  F.  H. 
Searles,  C.  J. 
Wasman,  H.  F. 
Atkinson,  Alfred. 
Culver,  A.  B. 
Carmichael,  Jas. 
Sando,  Wm.  F. 
De  Avala,  Win. 


APPENDIX  A. 


349 


Gaul,  C.  H. 
Gaul,  W.  A. 
Armstrong,  Uriah. 
Hoffman,  E.  P. 
Gould,  A.  E. 
Mathews,  C.  W. 
Adams,  Seth  W. 
Weitzel,  P.  E. 
Bice,  Chas. 
Tetter,  Levi. 
Davidson,  51.  W. 
Hill,  Emory. 
Singer,  Chas. 
Paff,  Jacob. 
Williams,  D. 
Wolfe,  W.  H. 
Wheeler,  Wm. 
Bradbury,  Wesley. 
Depue,  Jesse  A. 
Merrill,  J.  A. 
Smith,  A.  W. 
Samter,  Benj.] 
Valentine,  A.  J. 
Archbald,  Jas. 
Hewitt,  A.  C. 
Sunday,  Edward. 
Stewart,  W.  C. 
Hewitt,  Jas.  B. 


privatks — (Continued). 

Staples,  James. 
Tiffany,  G.  A. 
Junele,  Frank. 
Boice.  C.  H. 
Haag,  Bobt. 
StorniK,  E.  A. 
Wools  jy,  H.  J. 
Flory,  Clarence  M. 
Bowling,  Jas. 
Gable,  G.  L. 
Mitchell,  J.  L. 
Paterson,  W.  W. 
Wrigl  -y,  J.  W. 
Chase,  Geo. 
Ellis,  F.  W. 
Hughes,  E.  C. 
Monies,  Geo.  B. 
Powell,  Carodic. 
Pilger,  Frank. 
Snyder,  S.  H. 
Stall,  Jas. 
Shafer,  John  E. 
Andrews,  D.  B. 
Armbrust,  Louis  C. 
Bonn,  A.  L. 
Bansen,  H.  M. 
Davis.  Arthur. 
Gessler,  H.  J. 


Beworth,  F.  E. 
Cole,  J.  P.  B. 
Griffin,  Wm.  A. 
Ellers,  J.  A. 
Gable,  George  L. 
Hoffard,  S.  M. 
Kidney,  F.  M. 
Davis,  L. 
Dolmetsch,  Otto. 
Gow,  Joseph  W. 
Labar,  Charles  M. 
McCabe,  Bernard. 
McDonald,  Chas. 
Moore,  H.  P. 
Teller,  Chas.  B. 
Boyer,  Chas. 
Carr,  W.  H. 
Woodling,  Jerome. 
Whitman,  F.  J. 
Babtist,  Wesley. 
Beesecker,  Daniel. 
Coweles,  W.  C. 
Connell,  Fred. 
Fruehan,  Jacob. 
M'hite,  Jno. 
Kendall,  Wm. 
Hedrick,  Fred. 
Bedford,  A.  P. 


The  company  has  been  engaged  in  jompetitive  drills,  winning  the  "  Belin  Trophy,"  of- 
fered to  the  best-drilled  company  in  the  13th  Begt.,  the  competition  requiring  three  annual 
drills  to  determine  its  winner.    The  only  competitors  in  the  last  drill  were  Companies  A  and  C. 

They  also  took  the  first  prize  on  July  4,  1885,  in  a  competition  open  to  companies  of  the 
9th  and  13th  Begts. 


HISTORIC   ROLL   OF   COMPANY   D,  SCRANTON   CITY 

GUARD. 

Roll  of  Officers  and  Enlisted  Men  of  Company  D,  ijtli  Regi- 
ment, N.  G.  P.,  from  Aug.  14,  18  jy,  to  June  1,  188  y. 

(  The  list  of  officers  shows  the  highest  rank  attained  while  in  the  company  during 

the  above  period.) 

CAPTAINS. 

Bipple,  Ezra  H.,  com.  capt.  Aug.  14, 1877 ;  maj.  13th  Begt.  Oct.  17,  1878;  lieut.-col.  Oct.  10, 
1883. 

Linen,  James  A.,  com.  1st  lieut.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  capt.  Nov.  15,  1878  ;  res.,  and  re-enl.  as  pri- 
vate May  1,  1880,  and  served  to  July  6,  1883. 

Hines,  Samuel,  1st  sergt.  Aug.  14, 1877  ;  2d  lieut.  Aug.  25,  1877  ;  1st  lieut.  Nov.  15,  1878  ; 
capt.  July  6,  1880. 

Thompson,  Geo.  B.,  enl.  Aug.  29,  1877;  corp.  Aug.  29,  1877  ;  sergt.  May  16,  1879;  1st  lieut. 
July  6,  1880  ;  capt.  April  4,  1884  ;  ren.  Oct.  16, 1886. 

May,  Wm.  A.,  enl.  Feb.  19,  1878;  corp.  May  1G,  1879;  sergt.  Jan.  8,  1881  ;  1st  eergt.  March 
30,  1883  ;  1st  lieut.  April  4,  1884;  res.  Nov.  16,  1885  ;  capt.  Nov.  26, 1886. 


350 


A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 


FIRST   LIEUTENANT. 
Wilcox,  ffm.  A.,  enl.  March  5, 1880  ;  corp.  May  3,  1882 ;  sergt.  March  30,  1883  ;  2d  lieut 
June  30,  1884  ;  1st  lieut.  Jan.  22,  1886. 

•  SECOND    LIEUTENANTS. 
Hitchcock,  F.  L.,  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  adjt.  S.  C.  G.  Aug.  25,  1877  ;  lieut.-col.  Oct.  17,  1878  ;  col. 

Oct.  10,  1883. 
Jackson,  Edward  S.,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1877 ;  sergt.  Aug.  10,  1877 ;  1st  sergt.  Sept.  27,  1878  ;  2d 

lieut.  Nov.  15,  1S78 ;  res.  Jan.  12,  1883. 
Uand,  George  B.,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1877  ;  corp.  Sept.  27, 1878  ;  sergt.  Aug.  5,  1881  ;  2d  lieut.  Jan. 

19, 1883 ;  res.  April  19,  1884. 
Fellows,  Eugene  D.,  enl.  May  15,  1880 ;  corp.  Aug.  11,  1881  ;  sergt.  March  30,  1883  ;  1st  sergt. 

Jan.  9,  1885  ;  2d  lieut.  Jan.  22, 188G. 


Harding,  James  L. 
Belin,  Henry,  Jr.* 


Detweiler,  Frank  P. 
Dickson,  Alex.  \V. 
Fowler,  Edward  C. 
Hackett,  Wm.  T. 


FIRST    SERGEANTS. 
Lawson,  David  T. 
Stevens,  Samuel  H. 

SERGEANTS. 
Lindsay,  Charles  H. 
Lord,  Edwin  W. 
Ives,  George  H. 
Moore,  Sidney  H. 
McAskie,  John  G. 


Baker,  Arthur  L. 
Barnard,  Montrose. 


Mattes,  Louis  T. 
Pratt,  Claude  B.,  Jr. 
Van  Bergen,  Henry  C. 
White,  Janit- s  L. 


Bentley,  George  F. 
Bradbury,  Charles  E. 
Bryant,  Jacob. 
Conrad,  Charles  C. 
Deacon,  James  H. 
Dimler,  Henry,  Jr. 
Ives,  Edwin  \V. 


Acker,  Wni.  L. 
Archbatd,  Robert  W. 
Atkinson,  W.  H. 
Bailey,  John. 
Becker,  Fred.,  Jr. 
Blair,  Austin  B. 
Blair,  J.  Seldeu. 
Boies,  Henry  M.f 
Bowen,  Joseph. 
Breck,  George  L.J 
Buck,  Edward  L. 
Buck,  U.  D. 
Burke,  James  E. 
Burke,  W.  J. 
Burr,  Chas.  S. 
Butler,  Henry  C. 
Capwell,  John  N. 
Carlton,  George  W. 
Carroll,  Thomas  H. 
Coleman,  Wm.  A. 
Connell,  Alfred  E. 
Connell,  James  L. 


CORPORALS. 

Krigbauin,  Hairy  L. 
Lewis,  John  H. 
McDivitt,  Samuel  P. 
Mc Williams,  James. 
Porter,  Henry  T. 
Price,  Samuel  B. 
Reynolds,  George  F. 

PRIVATES. 
Connell,  John  J. 
Connelly,  Wm. 
Conrad,  Wm. 
Coray,  George  E. 
Cornwall,  Marcus  D. 
Cramer,  Fremont  E. 
Davenport,  Henry  B. 
Deacon,  Henry  H. 
Dennis,  Augustus  C. 
Dennis,  Junius  B. 
Doersam,  Geo. 
Dougherty,  Geo. 
Downing,  Wm.  F. 
Drinker,  Alfred  C. 
Drinker,  Herbert  C. 
Dunning,  Harry  G. 
Edgar,  Wm.  B. 
Edwards,  Charles  A. 
Edwards,  James  U. 
Eisele,  J.  Geo. 
Ensminger,  Harry. 
Fairbrother,  Thos. 


Sando,  Michael  F. 
Seeley,  Leverett  I. 
Shirer,  Daniel  J. 
Shirer,  Edwin  N. 
Stokes,  Fremont. 
Stratton,  Randolph. 
Wilcox,  Asa  H. 


Fellows,  George  H. 
Fowler,  Charles  S. 
Fowler,  Wm.  M. 
Grambs,  Geo.  (musician). 
Grant,  Hezekiah  K. 
Graves,  George  F. 
Hagan,  Harry  (musician). 
Haight,  Denning  R. 
Haldeman,  Wm.  B.  (mus.). 
Hall,  George  (musician). 
Hamilton,  Fred.  B. 
Hand,  Charles  W. 
Handley,  Martin. 
Harvey,  Wm.,  Jr. 
Harris,  Charles  M. 
Harris,  George  H. 
Haslam,  Arthur  B. 
Hays,  John  J.  (musician). 
Hays,  Michael  (musician). 
Henwood,  E.  P. 
Ives,  Henry  M. 
Ives,  Wm.  W.g 


*  Pro.  to  maj.  and  ordnance  officer  brigade  staff  April  19,  1879. 
Pro.  to  maj.  S.  C.  G.  Aug.  14,  1877.  t  Capt.  and  paymaster  S.  C.  G.  July  10,  1879. 

I  Pro.  to  hosp.  steward  Aug.  27,  1877. 


APPENDIX  A. 


351 


Jifkins,  Edward  J. 
Johnson,  Morris  W. 
Kaufhold,  H.  A. 
Kays,  Martin  K. 
Keenan,  John  (musician). 
Kehren,  Wm. 
Keller,  Clarence. 
Kicrnan,  J.  J. 
Kingsbury,  Henry  A.* 
Kingsbury,  Harry  W. 
Kingsbury,  N.  J.  W.f 
Kirkpatriek,  Jacob. 
Kisler,  J.  M. 
Krugerman,  Gustav. 
Lackey,  S.  A. 
Leonard,  Michael  (mils' n). 
Longshore,  John  R.  (mus.). 
Lush,  James. 

McAlpine,  Samuel  (mus'n). 
McDonnell,  Wm.  J.  (chief 

musician). 
McNulty,  Owen. 
McYittie,  Mortimer. 
Mack,  Robert. 
Mahoney,  John  C.  (mus'n). 
Mauska,  Charles. 
Meredith,  Samuel  R. 
Mershom,  John  W.  (mus.). 
Millett,  George  F. 
Morgan,  Charles  A. 


privat  es— ( Continued). 

Morris,  George  A.J 
Neave,  Wm.  J. 

O'Neill,  Harry. 
Owens,  George  W. 
Parrctt,  Joseph. 
Patte  -son,  Herbert  S. 
Pearson,  Hiram. 
Persch,  W.  A 
Plumley,  W.  E. 
Poorc,  John  P>. 
Raymond,  Thomas. 
Rayner,  Wm,  M. 
Reddington,  Joseph  P. 
Reynolds,  E.  P. 
Reynolds,  Ira  (musician). 
Reynolds,  S.  M. 
Rose,  John  M. 
Ruthven,  James.jJ 
Ruthveu,  James  W. 
Sanderson,  George.  J 
Sayn-,  Hiram. 
Schlager,  Charles  J. 
Scrag  g,  John  F. 
Seaver,  Jay  \V. 
Shaw,  Albert  C. 
Shinr,  Daniel  J. 
Simons,  Artemas  W, 
Simpson,  Win.  T. 
Slocum,  Frank  W.  (mus'n). 


Smith,  diaries  R. 
Smith,  Fred.  C. 
Smith,  Fred.  W. 
Smith,  Henry  W.fl 
Smith,  Steven  R. 
Smith,  "Wilbur  F. 
Stanton,  Byron  T. 
Steele,  Louie  R. 
Stevens,  Charles  W. 
Stokes,  Alfred  S. 
Streeter,  Howard  M. 
St  urges,  Edward  B. 
Swartz,  Samuel  T. 
Tewksbury,  Nelson. 
Thomas,  James  R. 
Thomas,  Wm.  (musician). 
Tisdell,  Frauk. 
Elmer,  George  II. 
Walter,  Edward. 
Walter,  George. 
Walter,  H.  J. 
Walter,  Louis. 
Weisentiue,  Richard  R. 
Welles,  Charles  H. 
Williams,  Fred. 
Williams,  Robert  J. 
Wilson,  Joseph  S. 
Wolfe,  Burr  T.  (musician). 
Wolfe,  Howard. 
Wood,  Fred.  E. 


PRIZES   WON   BY   COMPANY   D. 

(1)  Nay  Aug  Rifle  Association  Trophy,  consisting  of  silver  ice  pitcher,  salver  and  goblets  ;  won 

in  1879. 

(2)  Boies  Trophy,  shield  and  armor,  to  company  qualifying  greatest  number  of  men  ;  won  in 

,1878,  1S79  and  1880. 

(3)  Silver  cup,  given  by  Nay  Aug  Rifle  Association  ;  won  by  team  of  four  men  in  1879. 

(4)  Two  steel  engravings,  given  by  Col.  H.  M.  Boies  ;  won  in  1880. 

(5)  Citizens'  Trophy,  a  pair  of  bronze  statuettes,  given  by  citizens  of  Scranton  ;  won  in  1881, 

1882  and  1885. 
(G)  Boies  Skirmishers'  Match  Prize,  silver  pitcher,  given  by  Col.  H.  M.  Boies  to  team  of  five 

men  ;  won  in  1884. 
(7)  Colonel's  Match  Prize,  6teel  engraving,  given  by  Col.  F.  L.  Hitchcock  ;  second  prize  in 

1884  and  first  prize  in  1885. 


QUALIFIED   MARKSMEN   COMPANY   D. 


Year. 

1878.. 
1879.. 
1*80... 
1881.. 
18S2... 
1883... 


Qualified. 

....  18 

...  47 

...  n:j 

...  40 

...  38 

...  31 


Year. 
1884... 
1885... 
188(i.., 


Qualified. 
...    40 
...    46 

...     39 


Total 3G2 


*  Capt.  and  com.  Aug.  23,  1877.  t  Trans,  to  Co   A  June  12,  1878. 

X  Trans,  to  Co.  B.  \  Pro.  Aug.,  1877,  q.m.,  with  rank  of  1st  lieut. 

\  Tro.  capt.  and  paymaster  Aug.  25,  ":877  ;   lieut. -col.  and  div.  insp.  July  15,  1879  ;  col.  and 
geu.  insp.  rifle  practice,  on  staff  of  commander-in-chief,  Feb.  23,  1883. 
\  Trans,  to  Co.  C. 


352  A   CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

REPRESENTATIVES   OF  COMPANY   D   AT   CREEDMOOR. 
Capt.  George  B.  Thompson,  1879,  '80,  '81,  '82,        Private  C.  H.  Welles,  1879,  '80,  '81,  '82,  '83, 

'83.  '84,  '85,  '86.  '84,  '85,  '86. 

Lieut.  George  B.  Hand,  1879,  '80,  '81,  '82.  Private  H.  M.  Ives,  1882,  '83. 

Sergt.  C.  B.  Pratt,  1882,  '84,  '85,  '86.  Private  C.  R.  Smith,  1881. 

Corp.  George  H.  Ives,  1879,  '80,  '81.  Private  A.  L.  Baker,  1882,  '83,  '84,  '85,  '86. 
Corp.  E.  W.  Ives,  1881,  '82,  '83. 

REPRESENTATIVES   OF   COMPANY   D  IN   THE   INTER-STATE   MATCHES. 

Match  of  1879,  4  men.  Match  of  1883,  4  men. 

"   1880,  4  "  "   1884, 4  "  winners. 

"   1881,  6  "  "   1885, 4  "  winners. 

"   1882,  6  "   winners.  "   1886, 4  " 

REPRESENTATIVES   IN   ARMY   AND   NAVY   JOURNAL   CUP   MATCHES. 
Match  of  1879,  4  men.  Match  of  1882,  5  men,  winners. 

"        1880,4     "  "        1883,5     •« 

1881,  6    " 


APPENDIX   B.  353 


APPENDIX  (B). 


THE  VETERAN  ASSOCIATION   OF   THE   S.  C.  G. 

(Organized  Feb.  11,  1884.) 
CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  I.    NAME  AND  MEMBERSHIP. 

Section  1.  This  Association  shall  be  called  'The  Honorable  Association  of  Veterans  of  the 
Scranton  City  Guard."  The  organization  shall  date  from  August  14,  1882,  and  all  who 
were  veterans  of  the  S.  C.  G.  at  that  late  shall  be  enrolled  as  charter  members.  All  oth- 
ers shall  be  subject  to  election. 

Sectioii  2.  The  prime  object  of  this  Association  shall  be  the  maintenance  of  public  order  in 
accordance  with  the  authority  of  law  ;  the  perpetuation  and  discipline  of  the  active  mil- 
itary organization  known  as  the  Scranton  City  Guard,  organized  under  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  August  14,  1877  ;  the  preservation  of  the  history  and  associations 
of  active  service  ;  and  the  mutual,  intellectual  and  social  benefit  of  the  members. 

Section  3.  The  Association  shall  be  composed  entirely  of  veterans,  except  in  the  case  of  the 
Chaplain ;  and  no  one  shall  be  eligible  to  an  election  as  a  member  who  has  not  served  the 
full  term  of  five  years,  either  in  one  of  the  four  companies  of  the  S.  C.  G.  or  as  an  officer 
of  the  Field  or  Staff  of  the  Regiment  with  which  the  Guard  is  associated  in  the  State 
service,  while  a  resident  of  Scranton  ;  or  who,  having  begun  his  service  in  the  S.  C.  G., 
has,  by  reason  of  promotion  or  transfer,  completed  the  five  years'  term  of  active  service 
in  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania. 

Section  4.  Every  candidate  shall  be  presented  to  the  Board  of  Censors,  who  shall  inquire  into 
his  record,  examine  his  papers,  and  with  their  judgment  of  the  same  ;  as  good,  passable 
or  bad  ;  shall  present  his  name  at  the  next  subsequent  meeting  for  election,  provided  the 
name  of  the  candidate  shall  stand  upon  the  public  bulletin  at  the  Armory  for  at  least  one 
month  previous  to  the  election.  And  ten  negative  votes  shall  defeat  any  candidate.  After 
one  motion  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  a  candidate  has  been  rejected  has  been  acted 
upon,  he  shall  not  again  be  voted  on  within  one  year. 

Section  5.  Each  member  shall,  at  his  initiation,  sign  this  Constitution,  and  shall  pay  an  initi- 
ation fee  of  two  dollars,  and  shall  pay  annually  thereafter  two  dollars,  with  such  assess- 
ments as,  from  time  to  time,  may  be  made  by  vote  of  the  Association. 

Section  6.  Each  candidate,  before  signing  the  Constitution,  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, take  the  following  pledge,  administered  by  the  presiding  officer :  "  I  promise, 
upon  the  honor  of  a  gentleman  and  a  soldier,  to  fulfill  all  the  duties  of  a  veteran  of  the 
S.  C.  G.,  and  to  submit  to  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  Veteran  Association,  in  accord- 
ance with  its  adopted  Constitution." 

ARTICLE  II.    ORGANIZATION. 

Section  1.  The  Association  shall  be  organized,  as  far  as  possible,  as  a  military  command  ;  and 
shall  possess  only  such  civil  officers  as  may  be  found  necessary  for  the  protection  of  its 
property  and  transaction  of  its  civil  affairs. 

Section  2.  The  officers  of  the  Veteran  Corps  shall  be  a  Colonel,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Major, 
Adjutant,  Quartermaster,  Chaplain,  Commissary,  Surgeon,  Assistant  Surgeon,  an  Ar- 
morer, four  Captains,  four  Lieutenants,  a  Keeper  of  Archives,  and  five  Censors,  who  shall 
be  chosen  and  rank  as  follows : 


354  A  CITY'S   DANGER  AND   DEFENSE. 

1.  The  Colonel  shall  be  elected  by  a  vote  of  the  Association  annually,  and  shall  be  eligible 

for  not  more  than  four  years  in  succession.    He  shall  be  ex-officio  the  President  of 
the  Association. 

2.  The  Lieutenant-Colonel  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  shall  be  eligible 

to  re-election  twice  in  succession.     He  is  ex-officio  First  Vice-President  of  the  Associ- 
ation. 

3.  The  Major  shall  be  eligible  to  election  twice  in  succession.    He  is  ex-officio  Second 

Vice-President. 

4.  The  Adjutant  shall  be  elected  for  one  year,  upon  the  nomination  of  the  Colonel,  and 

shall  be  eligible  for  not  more  than  four  successive  terms.     He  shall  be  ex-officio  Sec- 
retary of  the  Association,  and  his  rank  shall  be  First  Lieutenant. 

5.  The  Quartermaster,  with  rank  of  First  Lieutenant,  shall  be  chosen  for  a  term  of  two 

years,  and  shall  be  eligible  for  re  election  for  three  terms  in  succession.     He  shall  be 
ex-officio  Treasurer  of  the  Association. 

6.  The  Armorer,  with  rank  of  Second  Lieutenant,  shall  be  elected  for  three  years,  and 

shall  be  eligible  to  hold  the  office  for  two  terms  in  succession. 

7.  The  Chaplain,  with  rank  as  Captain,  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  not  more  than  four 

years.    He  shall  al  w%s  be  a  minister  in  regular  standing  in  some  evangelical  church, 
and  may  be  eligible  without  having  served  in  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania. 

8.  The  Surgeon,  with  rank  of  Major,  and  Assistant  Surgeon,  with  rank  of  First  Lieuten- 

ant, shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years.     The  Assistant  Surgeon  shall  be  recog- 
nized as  the  candidate  for  promotion. 

9.  The  Commissary,  with  rank  as  Captain,  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and 

shall  be  eligible  for  re-election  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Association. 

10.  Th,e  Keeper  of  Archives,  with  rank  as  Captain,  who  shall  hold  no  other  office,  shall 
be  elected  for  a  term  of  not  less  than  five  years. 

11.  The  four  Captains  rank  as  First,  Second,  Third  and  Fourth,  and  shall  be  elected  as 
follows  :  The  First  Captain  for  one  year,  the  Second  for  two  years,  the  Third  for  three 
years  and  the  Fourth  for  four  3'ears.  The  Second,  Third  and  Fourth  Captains  shall 
be  advanced  annually  by  regular  promotion,  and  after  the  first  election  the  annual 
election  of  Captains  shall  be  of  the  Fourth  Captain  for  four  years. 

12.  The  four  Lieutenants  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  rules  as  those  which  govern  the 

choice  and  promotion  of  the  four  Captains. 

13.  The  five  Censors  shall  constitute  the  Board  of  Censors,  who  shall  be  the  trustees  of 
the  Association.  This  Board  shall  be  constituted  of  the  First,  Second,  Third  and 
Fourth  Censors,  with  the  Major,  who  shall  be  ex-officio  Chairman  of  the  same.  At 
the  first  election  these  Censors  shall  be  chosen,  the  First  for  one  year,  the  Second  for 
two,  the  Third  for  three  and  the  Fourth  for  four  years.  And  these  shall  have  annual 
promotions  by  the  same  rules  which  control  Captains  and  Lieutenants.  At  all  subse- 
quent elections  the  Fourth  Censor  shall  alone  be  chosen  for  the  term  of  four  years. 
To  this  Board  shall  be  committed  the  charge  of  the  general  interests  of  the  civil  af- 
fairs of  the  Association,  and  of  the  moral  standing  of  the  members.  They  shall  be 
required  to  report  annually  upon  the  whole  condition  of  the  Guard,  both  veteran  and 
active.  They  shall  report  the  condition  of  all  property  belonging  to  the  Association, 
with  an  annual  schedule  of  the  same.  They  6hall  have  no  power  to  criticize  or  inter- 
fere with  any  military  officer  in  his  command  or  while  in  the  performance  of  his 
duty.  This  Board  shall  order  and  constitute  all  courts-martial  under  the  following 
limitations,  to  wit ;  1st,  When  required  to  do  so  by  the  officer  commanding.  2d, 
When  requested  to  do  so  by  any  two  officers  of  the  Association.  3d,  When  requested 
to  do  so  by  five  members  in  writing,  with  a  statement  of  the  cause.  All  courts-mar- 
tial to  be  constituted  by  the  Board  of  Censors  shall  be  composed  of  three  members,  of 
equal  or  superior  rank  to  the  accused,  with  power  to  fine,  censure  or  expel,  and  are 
to  be  conducted  according  to  the  practice  of  the  United  States  Army. 

ARTICLE  III.     ARMS  AND  UNIFORM. 

Section  1.  The  Association  may  adopt  a  uniform,  but  shall  not  compel  its  use,  further  than  to 
forbid  any  member  not  in  uniform  from  appearing  on  drill  or  parade  without  the  consent 
of  the  commanding  officer. 

Section  2.  All  arms  worn  by  officers  of  the  Association  when  od  duty  or  parade,  and  all  insig- 
nia of  office,  shall  be  the  property  of  the  Association,  to  be  returned  to  the  Armorer  in 
good  condition  when  their  terms  of  office  expire. 


APPENDIX   B.  355 

ARTICLE  IV.    MEETINGS,  DKILLS  AND  PABADES,  ETC. 

Section  1.  A  regular  meeting  of  the  Association  may  be  held  once  each  quarter,  and  under 
call  of  the  officer  commanding. 

Section  2.  There  may  be  at  least  four  drills  each  year,  one  each  quarter,  at  such  times  as  the 
officer  commanding  shall  appoint. 

Section  3.  The  A'eteran  Association  shall  publicly  parade  at  least  once  each  year,  on  or  about 
the  14th  day  of  August,  when  it  shall  be  ordered  out  by  the  Colonel.  All  other  parades 
and  encampments  are  to  be  determined  by  a  vote  of  the  Association.  And  in  all  public 
parades  each  veteran  shall  be  entitled  to  wear  the  insignia  of  the  highest  rank  attained 
by  him,  either  in  veteran  or  active  service. 

Section  4.  In  all  business  meetings  the  order  of  business  shall  be  according  to  a  schedule  which 
shall  be  adopted  as  a  by-law,  and  according  to  such  by-laws  as  may,  from  time  to  time,  be 
adopted. 

Section  5.  Thirteen  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  transact  all  business  except  the 
election  of  officers  and  members  of  the  Association,  the  ordering  of  parades  and  encamp- 
ments and  the  amendment  of  the  Constitution.  For  these  items  of  business  one-third  of 
the  enrolled  members  shall  be  necessary  to  constitute  a  quorum. 

Section  6.  Amendments  may  be  made  to  this  Constitution  only  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  the  Asso- 
ciation having  been  notified  of  the  imendment  upon  the  public  bulletin  at  least  one 
month  previous  to  action. 

Under  this  Constitution  the  Veteran  Association  was  organized  on  the  11th  of  February, 
1SS1,  with  a  charter  membership  of  sever  ty-six  men  and  the  following  officers  :  Colonel,  H. 
M.  Boies;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  J.  A.  Linen  ;  Major,  A.  W.  Dickson  ;  Adjutant,  Lieut.  E.  F. 
Chamberlin  ;  Chaplain,  Rev.  S.  C.  Logan,  D.D. ;  Quartermaster,  Lieut.  M.  I.  Corbett ;  Sur- 
geon, H.  V.  Logan,  M.D. ;  Commissary,  A.  P.  Bedford  ;  Keeper  of  Archives,  C.  K.  Smith  ; 
First  Captain,  Samuel  Hines  ;  Second  Captain,  E.  J.  Smith  ;  Third  Captain,  W.  J.  Watts  ; 
Fourth  Captain,  E.J.  Dimmick  ;  First  Lijutenant,','W.  C.  Bushnell ;  Second  Lieutenant,  E.  S. 
Jackson;  Third  Lieutenant,  Wm.  Connell  ;  Fourth  Lieutenant,  A.  C.  Logan  ;  First  Censor, 
J.  H.  Torrey  ;  Second  Censor,  E.  H.  Kipple  ;  Third  Censor,  H.  A.  Knapp ;  Fourth  CenBor,  A. 
J.  Norrman. 


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